I love College basketball. To me it is the best that sports has to offer. 64...oops 68 teams One Big Dance. I still cry when I hear the lyrics to the NCAA basketball anthem from 2004. One Shining Moment......
The time is short
and the road is long
in the blinking of an eye
ah that moment's gone
And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew... (that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED DEEP INSIDE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW YOU WERE ALIVE.
No one personifies college basketball like John Wooden The Wizard of Westwood. 7 NCAA championships in a row!!!! 11 in 12 years. Absolutely unequaled. Never to be accomplished again.
The coach had it all and motivated his players like no one else with short pithy statements. One of my favorites given to him by his father upon his graduation from school is his 7 point creed...
1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.
His players lived by his words......
On March 1st 1995 I handed in my Rabbinic Thesis and my advisor Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus the Dean of American Jewish history and the John Wooden of Judaism handed me a note that said: A philosophy for survival as you see it. It was his 5 point creed that would help me survive as a Rabbi. I’ve carried this note around with me ever since...
1. Help where ever you can
2. Listen Sympathetically
3. Never “fight”
4. Tell them to observe what they can
5. Explain Jewry is security in an ever larger world.
For the past 18 years I’ve tried to live by The Doctor's words......
Take a moment to think about whose words have influenced you? Whose words have motivated you to dig deep inside of yourself to find that ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW YOU WERE ALIVE.
My Bracket is complete I've already won...... It doesn't matter what team wins on April 8th.
I love the story about that piece of paper. Here is what I wrote February 20, 2003:
ReplyDeleteRabbi brings new philosophy to traditional services
BY SUSAN BERGER
STAFF WRITER
Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein opens his wallet and carefully removes a tattered piece of paper.
As he gently unfolds the note, it’s obvious from the faded ink and tattered edges he has done this hundreds of times. The message represents the hallmark of his rabbinate. It reads:
No. 1. Help wherever you can.
No. 2. Listen sympathetically.
No. 3. Never “fight.”
No. 4. Tell congregants to observe what they can.
No. 5. Explain that Jewry is security in an ever-larger world.
Lowenstein, 39, the rabbi at Am Shalom in Glencoe, said the note was given to him by Rader Marcus, his 99-year-old adviser and mentor. Lowenstein received the note on the day he handed in his rabbinic thesis in 1995.
“The wisdom of Dr. Marcus continues to inspire me,” Lowenstein said.
Lowenstein said he values the first item — to help whenever you can, a concept of human to human connection — above all others.
He has learned it is more important to listen to those he leads than what he has to say.
“Never fight” he takes to heart, because, he said, conflict inhibits spiritual growth. To be a rabbi in the 21st century is to wrestle with customs and rituals to make them relevant in contemporary life, he added.
Modern rituals
The rabbi has been known to counsel an engaged couple at the gym following a workout. He is happy to give out his cell phone number and e-mail address.
He often uses modern literature and poetry in sermons and wedding ceremonies. He has held Sabbath services in the most unusual places. Lowenstein even took his wife Julie’s name, Stark, as his middle name.
Many call him Rabbi Steve, an informality that provides some insight into his philosophy...