Speaking of dancing, life and inspiration, I would be remiss were I to fail to mention a fascinating scene from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” Written in the late 1800s and first performed on Broadway in the 1960s, the musical stars Tevye, a poor milkman with five daughters and tells the tale of the shtetl of Anatevka in 1905, where the residents lives were as precarious as a fiddler on a roof.
This particular scene takes place during a tense time between the local Jewish residents and the Russians. Tevye meets the town’s rich butler, Lazar, at Mordcha’s Inn and mistakenly assumes they are meeting to discuss the sale of Tevya’s cow. Lazar had intended to discuss marrying Tevye’s daughter Tzeitel and once the misunderstanding was cleared up Tevye consented. A celebration ensued amongst Tevye and the locals and part way through the scene the Russians join in, the walls between the two groups temporarily fell down.
Where there is a genuine celebration of life, there is harmony, lightness and a suspension of prejudice. I’ve seen it in weddings between warring families, at world sporting events between combative nations and in the office break room during a birthday celebration.
Life is precarious enough as it is. Why do we need to add injury to insult by insisting on prejudiced views of one another? Prejudice is formed either directly from personal experience or indirectly through socialization. Prejudice is a crystallized pattern of unforgiven history (true or imagined) that prevents its possessor from seeing the points of connection, of commonality and of newness.
Forgiveness and respect can break down barriers no matter how old or broad they may be. They are powerful tools in anyone’s hands and the world would be a better place were these tools used more liberally. Scan your world today and be ready to employ either forgiveness or respect when the need arises. Be the bigger person.
May you live to see a thousand reasons to rejoice!
Gregory Hake 
The old saying that life is wasted on the young could seem true. The older I get the more precious my time is. I don’t want to waste my moments on the thoughts and attitudes that block life. Respect opens our hearts to abundant love and forgiveness protects it.To life!!
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Thanks for digging up this video. It does come down to being the bigger person or not, doesn’t it? You can feel that critical moment in the scene when the one has to accept the extended hand of the other. Let’s not even have the questioning moment stroking our beard and let’s just do it!
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I’ve been enjoying the sentiment of your blog which includes a wish of health and peace to all.
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I like the attitude sung in the clip “and if our good fortune never comes, here’s to whatever comes!” Count me in!
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Powerful message
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Thank you – so true!
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This is a truth that few understand and even fewer use fully. Prejudice, no matter how much it hurts the group that is judged, hurts the judge just as much. The power of forgiveness is the power to unlock your world, and to let things start fresh.
Are there people that want he world to stay the same, and don’t want to make things better? Sure there are, but if people really see the power of (non self-martyring) forgiveness, then these people will find themselves cut off and marginalized quickly. There is no need to judge people, because they judge themselves by either having to live in a cut off world, or by being free.
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Agreed, great tone for the day Gregg!!!
Thanks for pointing this out as the point today, wasn’t certain as to what might have been blocking my vision, I trust that as I employ this tactic, there will be a thousand and one reasons for rejoicing!!!
Appreciate your pro-vision always!
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Wonderful post! I really appreciate the point about prejudice preventing one from seeing the new opportunities in each moment …..
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