Sunday, August 23, 2015

#BlogElul 8: Hear

My world is filled with so much background noise and static that sometimes it's hard to hear the things that really matter.

Mostly, it seems, I hear one-sided cell phone conversations. Narishkeit.

Honking horns. Car alarms. Revving engines. Ambulance sirens.

Someone else's music. Blaring car radios. Firetrucks.

Inane chatter.  Jackhammers. Back-up beeps.

Dogs barking. Garbage trucks. Too much talking about nothing.

"Please step away from the door.  Please step away from the door. Please step away from the door."

Stand clear of the closing doors. Stand clear of the closing doors. Stand clear of the closing doors."

Too-loud music. Blenders making frappacinos. Endless words with no message.

Then this morning, I heard NPR's Scott Simon report on Jimmy Carter's recent press conference at which "people of all political faiths got a glimpse of [his] personal courage, grace and goodness. Simon went on to describe Carter's role in ridding the world of guinea worm, which previously had caused debilitating parasitic infections in 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia.

Last year, 126 cases were reported.

How refreshing to hear about something that really matters.

You can hear Scott Simon's full report here:

Inspired by Ima on (and off) the Bima,this #BlogElul post is one in a series marking the days of the Hebrew month of Elul, which precedes the Jewish High Holidays and traditionally serves as a time of reflection and spiritual preparation for the new year.