Most of the US is already at or past sunset for Yom Kippur, but it is still late afternoon here on the west coast. This morning I got up, fed the cat, made coffee, set up challah dough, watered the plants, and discovered that the two fresh pistachios I decided to try and root, after trying out a handful of these recently picked nuts with their soft green outer coat at my local Armenian corner grocery a week or so ago, had both sprouted over a couple of days in a bag with a damp paper towel, so I planted them. It was an immense joy.
Yesterday evening, out on a walk, I realized that the mystery plant that seems to be doing well among my peppers is in fact the product of one of the pomegranate seeds I tossed into some dirt in an empty yogurt container a few months ago and kept watering, even though I’d assumed nothing would germinate.
All these small things–when I look at them they offset a little of the hard uncertainties of daily life this year. At least for a moment or two at a time. It’s odd to think that if I take care of them I could end up with a pomegranate tree and a couple of pistachio trees.
Likewise with people.
Wednesday was my birthday, and I talked to four people I expected to–my family–and one person I didn’t expect to hear from, a friend from our congregation, who called to wish me happy, and we talked, and I asked her how she was doing. It would have been normal in a conversation with anyone else, but not with her.
She’s a care coordinator for other people, which often means “how are you doing?” is her question, not something other people ask her. “Really stressed out,” she told me. She, like me, has been reading the appalling headlines too often and is too worried about the upcoming election to be able to relax.
And we commiserated a little, and hopefully felt better and stronger afterward.
And we’re going to observe Yom Kippur in an hour or so, and we’re going to breathe in as much calm and remembrance as we can that our community is still here, in large part thanks to her work, and we’re going to put one foot in front of the other and take the chances we can to do better.
Take a moment and take a chance where you can on a small act of planting and growing generosity, kindness, optimism. It will sweeten the new year for at least moments at a time, and you never know but it may work better than you hope.
To a better 5781, with better health, peace, love, prosperity, justice and compassion for all of us who are feeling more than a little nuts at the moment.
Filed under: cooking, fruits, holiday cooking, nuts, Oddities | Tagged: community, food, Jewish holidays, politics | Comments Off on A Quick Wish for a Better 5781
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