“Hag”log: New beginnings.
Some streams of Buddhism put a lot of emphasis on living life mindfully. They suggest that we can live life more fully if everything we do is done with our full attention, as if we were doing it for the first time. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we really could do everything with a fresh mind? If everything was always as exciting as when we’d first experienced it?

One way to relive that excitement is through the experience of others. Hence our fascination with babies taking their first steps, uttering their first words. The most fascinating of all is watching grownups from other worlds experiencing our reality for the first time.

I can never get enough of the stories told by those extremely brave youngsters who choose to leave the protected lives of the ultra-religious Jews and venture into the unknown – the harsh world of secular Israel, with none of the necessary skills, no money and no family support (Quite the opposite – they are often persecuted by their communities).

This young man has just taken the plunge.

“He has never walked into a store and bought himself an article of clothing, or anything else. Now, he has fearlessly gone on a shopping spree at the new central bus station and bought himself a few shirts and pairs of pants.

[…]

The most exciting purchase of all was sandals. The air that flowed between his toes excited him, made him giddy. "It's like in biblical times," he smiles.

And at his hosts' home, he passed another mental hurdle when a large dog sniffed at him. "The first time, I was shaking, but the owner of the house told me that he doesn't bite, and after a while, I found the courage to call him over to me and I even pet him. Now I can say that even though they raised me to be afraid of dogs, I like animals."”