Happy Easter, good people, I thank you and love you for being part of this community, for following my life and caring about it, for supporting my work, for sharing your stories of life with me.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who was my favorite writer, said that we are not born only once, when our mothers give birth to us, but life requires us to give rebirth to ourselves again and again. I believe these are true and prescient words, I believe my life is marked by rebirth and resurrection, I honor both on this holiday.

It is perhaps strange for a man born Jewish and turned Quaker to talk of resurrection, but I have always admired the true work and beliefs of Jesus Christ and his life has always inspired me to never give up on life, to never stop trying to understand what it means to be good, to never stop praying for the poor to have hope, to never abandon my belief in the goodness of human beings.

In our world, we are called upon every day to choose between hatred and anger, cruelty and judgment, or empathy, good will and faith and compassion. For me, faith is not about being cruel or angry, it is about finding out better spirits and letting them live.  On this day, of all days, I renew my vows to love, understanding and the struggle to learn and practice what it really means to be a human being. We, alone among all of the creatures on the earth, can choose to be better. I am working on it.

That is what this day means for me.

Love, said God in the Kabbalah, is the purpose, it is the point of life. I never stopped looking for love, and my wish for all of you on this Easter Day is that you find love, follow your adventure, that you put your lips to the world, and live  your life.

“A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare
to the jeweled vision of a life started anew.”   – Aberjhani, Quotations From A Life Made Out of Poetry.
 

Happy Easter, peace and compassion to you.