Shofarot

Now is the time for turning.

The leaves are beginning to turn from green to red and orange.
   The birds are beginning to turn
   And are flying once more towards the south.
The animals are beginning to turn
To storing their food for the winter.
   For leaves, birds, and animals
   Turning comes instinctively,
   But for us, turning does not come so easily.
It takes an act of will for us to make a turn.
   It means breaking with old habits,
   It means admitting that we have been wrong.
   And it is never easy.
It means losing face.
It means starting all over again,
And this is always painful.
   It means saying, "I am sorry."
   It means recognizing that we have the ability to change,
   And this is always embarassing.
These things are terribly hard to do.
But unless we turn, we will be trapped forever in yesterday's ways.
   Therefore, may we find the strength to turn
From callousness to sensitivity,
From hostility to love,
   From pettiness to purpose, from envy to contentment,
   From carelessness to discipline, from fear to trust.
   May we turn ourselves around and toward all that is noble,
   true and life-affirming to revive our lives, as at the beginning.
Then may we turn toward on another,
For in isolation there is no life.

-Jack Riemer