Do we live in a beautiful world or an ugly one?

I will never forget a conversation I had with two individuals. We were talking about life.

One of the people began sharing, in a very warm and kind way, the beautiful life she grew up in. Her loving home, a supportive family, a welcoming community; her childhood and journey into adulthood was filled with light, warmth, nobility and dignity.

The other person joined the conversation expressing how he grew up in an entirely different universe! His life was one of trauma and pain. A hostile home, angry family, disconnected community; his childhood and journey into adulthood was filled with darkness, backstabbing, narcissism and selfishness.

His description brought me to tears.

I started to think about this contrast, how every person has a different perspective on life based on their different experiences. To some this world is warm, open, inviting. And to others it's cold, hostile and isolating.

No doubt, over the course of our lives most of us experience both beautiful times and sometimes ugly ones. But how do you perceive the world as a whole? Do you wake up to a loving world, ready to absorb its warmth and fly with the angels? Or do you wake up to a mean world, ready to brace the cold and battle demons?

Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this life-changing talk, and discover that despite the darkness, coldness and hostility often surrounding us, we have the inner resources to warm and illuminate not only ourselves but others as well. We are not products or victims of circumstance. At our core and essence we are bright and soaring souls, sent to a dark and cold universe, with the innate power to transform and create a beautiful world, no matter the challenges.