Art By Tali Landsman

Years ago, when I was a very young woman, I read about the concept of reincarnation. I was aware that we all internalize some sort of belief system, and if it were all a matter of belief, why not adopt a belief that life is continual and everlasting, instead of believing that life is short, that you only get one chance, one go-round to live. My culture has a saying: "You only live once!" And to me, this seemed so cruel, it meant that life is short and that one must squeeze life like a juicy orange, in order to extract as much juice as one can, out of it. It brought me peace to join the billions of people around the world, namely Hindus and Buddhists, who believe wholeheartedly in reincarnation. Over the years, I periodically asked myself, why does the idea of continuity of soul give me such a sense of peace.... I had to admit that it made me sad, to think that this is a random universe, that nothing has a purpose and a meaning, and that I will never exist again. Around the ti...

The Universe truly loves and needs you! Your light is an integral part of the Light that permeates all space and weaves this world into being. You are unique! You are special! You are a light unto the world! It is Chanukah time, the holiday of light in the Jewish tradition. This holiday is celebrated with the lighting of candles in the Menorah. One candle is added to the Menorah each night.  On the first night, you light only the shammash (the candle used to light the other candles, which is located at a different height in the Menorah) and one Chanukkah candle.  By the eighth night, the whole menorah is lit. It is a holiday that celebrates the biblical miracle when a tiny amount of oil, barely enough to last the night, lasted for eight days. It symbolizes the truth that we, as children of life, children of an all loving God, have no need to despair or believe in lack of any kind. We live in a miraculous, spiritual, ethereal universe i...

After a few weeks in the quiet hills of the Hokianga, we flew to Auckland for a brief cultural visit.    We just missed the Jewish Film Festival in Auckland, which was taking place over the course of two weekends, since we had come for a mid-week trip. The festival appeared to be full of interesting movies, and I regretted missing it, since I knew that most of these films would never make it to the big screen, or even get video distribution. This is one of the reasons that I love going to film festivals - you get to see a lot of creative and interesting movies that have little or no commercial value and usually get no wide distribution, and so are rarely seen by the general public. Many of these movies are fun, reflective, contemplative or have an interesting message. Beside eating great food and shopping for things that we cannot get in the rural Far North of NZ, we were also able to attend a small Japanese film festival that was sponsored by the Japanese embassy. The...

I see perfection in other people, but rarely in myself. I see perfection in the work of other artists, but rarely in my own. I see all the details of what I missed when we renovated our houses and all the things that I still need to  fix or clean or correct. I have been blessed, or cursed, with an eye for details, that sees dust where others see cleanliness, that sees room for improvement where others are content. I am probably the only person in the world who brings with her a scuff-mark eraser and other cleaning gadgets when staying at an Airbnb apartment, and I leave the apartment cleaner than when I came into it. It is my cross to bear.... I am learning to live with myself, with my own perception and my limiting ideas every single day. My aim is to let go of everything that stands in my way to pure happiness. Everything that is blocking my vision, I am willing to let it all go. I hold onto nothing, and I face each day with empty hands, willing to receive the lessons that the ne...

From Japan, we flew to The Bay of Islands in the Far North of NZ. It is springtime here in New Zealand, and our garden is in full bloom. Most of the flowers are wild, or they have reseeded themselves through the years. Because of our travel schedule, I am trying to keep a low maintenance garden, but it is not easy in the very fertile climate of NZ. Despite the accumulation of five months of weeds, there are yellow, purple and pink irises, large white Cala lilies, orange bellflowers and pink fragrant roses, along with tiny hummingbirds and bumble bees who come to drink the flowers' nectar. The air is balmy, not yet hot, and the evenings are pleasantly cool. It has been over five months since we have been here in New Zealand, and yet the house has remained remarkably clean. We were a bit concerned since we were absent during the winter season, yet everything looks to be in very good shape. The interior of the house was exceptionally clean, and in just a few hours, I had vacuumed and ...

We are traveling light to see the snow monkeys in Nagano prefecture, Japan. We have left our heavy bags at the apartment we've rented in Sapporo, and taken only a tiny day pack each.  In my airy, light backpack I carry a book, my iPad, a camera, a phone, a charger, our passports and wallets. For toiletries, I have a hair conditioner, a disposable hairbrush, a natural stone deodorant, a disposable toothbrush and a small bottle of Jojoba oil. I plan to use the Jojoba oil as a multipurpose leave-in hair oil, face cream, hand cream and lip balm. We each have a change of clothes and one pair of good walking shoes. We will be staying in Onsen hot spring hotels where they provide guests with shampoo and personal scrubbing towels to use in the baths, and yukatas (casual kimonos) to wear as well as sandals or slippers. We are making a small pilgrimage to the Japanese Alps to see the snow monkeys in their forested natural habitat in Nagano. After an overnight stay in Nagano city, we took the...