After a moving season of introspection, renewal and recommitment afforded by the Hebrew month of Elul and the Jewish high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it has been a great joy to sit for the past week in my Sukkah. I have felt a sense of closeness and celebration. Not to mention the…
The Inside Job
I believe that to succeed in our sector we need to bring our whole selves to the job. In this section of the Giving Way blog I share short reflections on timeless wisdom I have encountered over the years. These morsels, many of which are drawn from Jewish tradition and other faith and philosophical traditions, help me move toward becoming the kind of professional – and human being – I want to be. I hope you find meaning in them as well. I welcome any insights you would like to share back with me as well.
Warmly,
Todd J. Sukol
Listening for Guidance
I believe that within each of us is an innate sense of knowing that I have long suspected gives us access to something deeper and truer than our minds could ever discern. I find a hint at this in one of the many metaphors for the Divine offered in the Biblical narrative. Among the many…
The Energizing Power of Awe
In Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” he suggests visualizing your funeral, imagining what people might say about you when you die. “Begin,” Covey tells us, “with the end in mind.” This is potent advice. Energy to get things done coalesces when we get clear about who we want to be and…
More than Animals
Jewish tradition prohibits attaching farm animals of radically different species to the same plow, on account of frustration and excessive burden to both animals. Even in the context of ancient agriculture, we recognize that partnering with someone of wildly different temperament can be painful. One philosopher applies this principle to human relationships as well. He…