The Happiest Time of the Year

Happiness is...

Hundreds of presents

Wrapped under a tree

One for you

And ninety nine for me

Happiness is...

Trampling a stranger

For a deal so good

That I have no problem

Knocking someone where he stood

Happiness is...

Sitting around saying thanks

For all I have

While looking at the next gadget

I can grab

Wait...

TRUE happiness is...

Having beliefs

Bigger than me

Morals and values

That have guided us for centuries

TRUE happiness is...

Overcoming adversity

And returning home to rebuild

Discovering that not all hope was destroyed

Because one flask was still sealed

TRUE happiness is...

Finding that spark within

That burns brighter than twinkling lights

And remember that miracles do occur

Far longer than those magical eight nights...

The Place Where My Heart Stand Stills

Here I stand

At the place where my heart stops beating

I catch my breath for a moment

And feel the rush of the wind

The shining sun.

For a moment

Peace reigns

In heaven on earth.

Safety surrounds

There is no bad here

Bliss, joy, protection

And love.

It is here

That my heart stand stills.

I think of you

Those who make my heart melt

And give me the strength to keep going

When I can't

You're courage

Is empowering.


I dream of you
Your paved roads
And radiant smiles.
There is something safe in knowing
That you are able to smile
When all the odds are against you
And that makes me realize
That things aren't so bad.


And when I am feeling down
Needed a boost to go forth
I'll think of you
And how you're thinking of this same place
And then everything will somehow be ok

Waxing Poetic (Simply Inspired)

I should be studying, but as usual, I am procrastinating. Seriously hoping for a snow day, which is usually a lost cause because its already been jinxed. Oh well. Instead, I want to share a poem, of something, about someone, or anything in between... Oh what to write...

I love the feeling that surges through my veins
When something great is accomplished when all hope was lost
Because somehow those great deeds could only be done
At the highest price, a most miserable cost.

The pieces gathered together, all neat and aligned
So kindly and so sweet they fell into place
Now to others who only saw sadness in me
See a bright, beaming smile in its place.

Perhaps waiting is tortuous
Yes, no one wants to pass the time waiting
How true are these words for a student who has a deadline
Or a young girl who is dating

But time has this funny way
Of showing us that this is all for our good
So we do as we're told
And follow nicely like we should

And somehow all those little parts
That were randomly thrown askew
Come together like the notes of a song
And reveal depth, and beauty to show they are true.

Waxing graceful poetics
On my side of the screen
Do you understand my happiness?
Do you know what I mean?

The hand that is guiding us
Holding us close and tight
Has all the answers and pieces
And only He knows what's right

So He's putting together the puzzle of our lives
Careful to be sure that the pieces are properly placed
And if we mess up, cuz sometimes we do
Who says we can't fix our mistakes with some paste?

:D


I guess you could say this poem is a jumble of thoughts. My mind has been all over the place I am kind of amazed I could write something semi-coherent/poetic... Does anyone get it?
Basically, I am pretty happy right now. Despite the confusion and pressure, things are coming together...

Tightrope Walker

Stretched so far
The tightrope walker begins
The trek across
A rope so thin.

The crowd below
Watch the show
Where will the tightrope walker go?
Does even she know?

Right foot, left foot,
Slowly across the rope
The audience cheers
So she is filled with hope.

Then the walker slips
And nearly falls
But the audience doesn't care
So to who can she call?

Back again, she steadies herself
And suddenly the audience sees
Because now her show,
To the audience, it pleases.

And then, just like that
She falls, plummeting down,
And no one even cared
To pick the tightrope walker off the ground.


Is it worth it to make everyone else happy when I am only torturing myself?

Happiness Is...

Happiness is… a sports water bottle filled with pink lemonade.
Happiness is… a pen writing smoothly on a piece of paper.
Happiness is… accomplishing goals and getting things done
Happiness is… listening to music that just helps
Happiness is… having a way to escape when you don’t want to be caught
Happiness is… the clicking of computer keys
Happiness is… music to choose from, and actually liking what is chosen
Happiness is… a conversation with a friend that doesn’t make sense but makes both people happy
Happiness is… running around on five hours of sleep
Happiness is… pretending
Happiness is… being happy for your friend
Happiness is… laughing at how cute your friend is when she flashes her ring and bracelet
Happiness is… knowing you can make decisions on your own, for better and for worse
Happiness is… knowing that out of a million people, out of the six billion + people in the world, someone cares about you more than you can imagine

Happiness is… having faith that everything will work out in the end.

Happiness is… knowing that one song can touch your soul in ways you didn’t think existed
Happiness is… a (nearly) working MP3 player
Happiness is… spontaneous ruach in the middle of the hallway.
Happiness is… being “dramatic” and “intense”
Happiness is… getting away with breaking the rules
Happiness is... “knowing what’s coming next”
Happiness is… realizing all you have to be grateful for.
Sadness is… having so much to be happy for and not realizing all the good you have

The Candyman

There are two reasons for this post, the second reason only came about because of the first. The first reason is, I wanted to sure a poem. I wrote it last year and if you read it closely you can find a very relative lesson that is applicable in every persons life... so read closely, take a moment to think about it, and let me know what you get out of it!

Between perilous slander
And mean fortune
Methinks nothing
But forswear a friend
Which idle change yield tantamount wicked
Only so we loathe
That which never learned our tender minds

The second reason for this post is because when I was locating the above poem on my computer, I found some notes from a speech I heard in camp. The way this speech worked was that the speaker stood in the middle of us (his audience) while we all watched a movie. Every so often the speaker would pause the movie and teach us how each part of the movie and explain how we could take a lesson from the movie. It was incredible to realize that something as gashmius-dik as a movie could have sparks of ruchnius that are so relevent and inspiring...
The movie we watched was the old version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At the beginning of the movie, Charlie goes into the candy store and the owner breaks out into song and sings:

Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

The speaker explained that the candy man is compared to Hashem. Hashem makes the world taste good. He could have made it bland and tasteless, He could have made food one taste and that would have been it. But Hashem wanted us to enjoy His beautiful world so He added flavors and tastes!
Now, while the above is nice to hear, I gained a different lesson from it based on my day. Hashem made the world taste good. But what tastes good to one person, may not taste the same way to another. Certain situations can be dealt differently based on the person who is experiencing it. Just like different candies taste good or bad to different people. For example, my mother LOVES the candy Good and Plenty… you know that weird licorice candy? Well, I cant stand it! It makes me gag. And while I like milk chocolate candy, and don’t like dark chocolate, my mother likes dark chocolate and doesn’t like milk chocolate… And a friend of mine HATES chocolate, while I love it! (But still I wonder, how can you not like chocolate???) So too, different situations and events sit well, or not so well with different people.
Life has different situations, events, people… and flavors… I think with time we all can learn to acquire the palate to enjoy them all, or at least manage them to swallow them politely.
(The actual lesson I learned in camp differed a lot from the above, which I just chapped around in like five minutes, but if interested, I can share the other one, which is really incredible and inspiring!)

Still Smiling

Being the day after Sukkos vacation, I consider this a chance to start my "projects" again with a brand new perspective. And sitting in Ivrit class, this is my thoughts about it...

I heard your voice,
Whispering in my mind,
Happiness is hiding,
Now go look and find.

I tried to imagine,
This task at hand,
Would it take months or years?
Would I have to search the whole land?

I asked for more clues,
From your elusive voice
But you already left
And I had no choice.

I looked deep within,
No answers were found,
So bravely I went,
To see where happiness could be found.

I asked a friend to tell,
What I should look,
With a smile and a wink,
She handed me a book.

I went to a teacher,
Who smiled so brightly,
She reassured me kindly,
"This quest should not be taken lightly!"

I looked to a mentor
Someone I looked up to,
Smiling so sweetly,
She told me what to do.

By days end,
I was completely wiped out,
But still I did not know,
What happiness was all about.

I looked in my mirror
To ask myself the question
Perhaps my own face
Could send me in the right direction.

I stared and stared,
For hours to no end,
It seemed so funny,
That soon my mouth did bend.

And then it hit me
Like a ton of bricks!
A stunning smile!
It finally clicked!

How simple it was,
All I needed was a smile,
And I could start being happy.
So I'm still smiling, being happy is so worthwhile!



BH today was a good day. I laughed at the things that annoyed me, smiled when I wanted to frown... (or mercilessly beat up certain people) and managed to come home in a good mood! Here's hoping for another day! And remember, when life seems kinda gray, a smile can clear those clouds away! (Try it! It works for me!)

Monkey Bars

(Sometimes I think I should take my own advice. Have a great Yontif!)

Monkey Bars
Imagine a child,
Swinging along,
With one tiny hand,
He bravely holds on.

Reaching forward,
His hand stretches far,
As he proudly grasps,
The next monkey bar.

His hands run roughly,
Against the metal pole,
But he is determined,
To reach his goal.

His little head sweats,
And his face contorts in frustration,
He is incredibly resolute,
To reach his destination

His muscles ache,
He groans quietly in agony,
The sun beats down,
But he keeps at it, as if magically.

Now imagine yourself,
Struggling each day,
Wishing all the misfortune,
Would just go away.

Your head hurts,
And nothing seems clear,
You still move forward,
And cling to what is dear.

Just one more step,
Surely you will succeed,
Keep looking to the future,
If you feel you are in need.

Sometimes you fall,
Achievement seems so far,
But just think of the little boy,
And his colored monkey bars.

At times he will fall,
Falling far down
But with innocent perseverance,
He’ll get up off the ground.

So be like the little boy,
Let nothing get in your way,
Very soon you’ll reach your goal,
And enjoy a brighter day!