Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

Event of the week: So, the Chiefs lost, a team and a city bereft of hope.  

Yet, as I write this the day after the game, I observe something remarkable. Life goes on! To the credit of our loyal/rabid fanbase, no one really seems too upset. With hope in our hearts, we eagerly look forward to next season, or at least the hope that comes with Kansas City Royals' spring training. As for the Royals, I remember the end of the 2014 World Series against the Giants with Alex Gordon on third base, the tying run 90 feet from home plate when Salvy Perez made the last out.

I was upset for maybe a minute, focusing on the Royals’ success and not on a disappointing end to the season. At the same time, Royals players had not quite let go of the disappointment. They came into the 2015 season with a chip on their shoulder, which evolved into a World Series victory over the Mets.

So, reaching beyond my grasp for a good analogy here, whatever state of things brings us disappointment now, we can look toward the future not with false hope but the hope that comes with our own ability to change the calculus. It’s OK to approach the future with our own chip on shoulder if it spurs us on to act for good. As I suspect the Chiefs will go into the next season with that chip on their respective shoulders, let us go forward with determination to better ourselves in order to better our communities and our world.