Nothing Is Impossible

 

Recently I had the opportunity to watch a live performance of actors and musicians playing and singing songs made famous on Broadway or at different concerts. The occasion took place at the Music Hall adjacent to the Hale Theater.

It was a magnificent experience and the tunes offered gave me a feeling of nostalgia. After all, I was part of a generation that grew up with crooners and bands and musical movies. The audience, which filled the theater, were of the same generation and enthusiastically responded each time a familiar song was presented.

When I arrived home from this exhilarating experience, I sat down in front of my computer and began to daydream. Perhaps over the years, many of us have found ourselves silent, deep in thought, and reliving memories.

One of the songs in the performance was from the Broadway show “Man of La Mancha.” Listening to the lyrics, with my mind wandering, I thought about all the tragedies in life and realized that we tend to neglect the joyous occasions and the many opportunities to celebrate life.

For example: “To dream the impossible dream… to bear the unbearable sorrow. To right the unrightable wrong. To try when your arms are too weary. To reach the unreachable star,” I began to remember birthdays, anniversaries, marriages, birth, graduations. As the time went on and on, my concentration was centered on the wonderful times and the happy times that overcame the difficult aspects of everyday living, always reaching for more.

Perhaps you, too, will think back to the visits of family, the picnics, the countless opportunities to gather to remind yourself of the importance of family and friends. Perhaps we can all think about the different thrills such as watching a ball game sitting in a stadium, eating hot dogs while rooting for the home team. Maybe, just maybe, we recall the marvel of watching space flight or the victories we shared over tyranny and gloom.

Then I went back to the lyrics and pondered “This is my quest: To follow that star. No matter how hopeless. No matter how far.” As we began our journey from childhood to maturity, our desires changed as well. No longer are we concentrating on youthful flirtations or finding ways to confuse our teachers and parents. Now we have begun to think about tomorrow and how we learned to transfer that flirtation into love, or mischief into accomplishments.

“And the world will be better for this: That one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage… To reach that unreachable star.”

The journey of life, as we know it, is filled with so many detours and road bumps that we sometimes throw up our hands and think all is lost. Then we stop at one of those detours, pause, and then continue because life is filled with so many momentous occasions, each giving us memories of cherished moments.

The gift of life is just that – a gift that needs to be wrapped, unwrapped, and marveled for its beauty as we begin to explore the thought behind the gift, the joyous moments appreciating it, and the gratitude we express.

Summer is here and wherever you find yourselves during this lazy time of the year, remember to be grateful; to share that gratitude with others; to always reach for the unreachable; to gaze at the stars and marvel at their brilliance; to always remember to whisper in the quiet of the night, “Thank you, God!”

 

E Rabbi Irwin Wiener, d.d.