A Moment in Time: Shopping for the Soul

Dear all,

Ron called me the other day to remind me of a few items to pick up.  (Yes, I added the cookies myself).

As I walked up and down the aisles of the grocery store, it dawned on me that in addition to the necessities for the body, there are necessities for the soul as well:

But where do we pick these up?  They certainly aren’t in aisle 6.

Or are they?

Every time we smile at a stranger in the store, we practice mindfulness.

Whenever we allow someone with a small handful of items to go before us, we practice patience.

Whenever we thank the bagger at check out, we practice gratitude.

And whenever we buy flowers (even though they weren’t on the list) to give to a special person we practice love.

There are opportunities at every moment in time to go shopping for the soul!

With love and shalom,

Rabbi Zach Shapiro

A change in perspective can shift the focus of our day – and even our lives.  We have an opportunity to harness “a moment in time,” allowing our souls to be both grounded and lifted.  This blog shows how the simplest of daily experiences can become the most meaningful of life’s blessings.  All it takes is a moment in time.
Rabbi Zach Shapiro is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Akiba, a Reform Jewish Congregation in Culver City, CA.  He earned his B.A. in Spanish from Colby College in 1992, and his M.A.H.L. from HUC-JIR in 1996.  He was ordained from HUC-JIR – Cincinnati, in 1997.