Guest post: On the Yamim Noraim

The following is the first guest post for the days of awe by my best friend Jonathan Roush.  I hope to feature guest posts from him more often in the future...if we're lucky!

Right now the Jewish world is observing Yamim Noraim, "The Days of Awe". This is a time of personal introspection about our behaviour in the last year. We are supposed to recount and remember our sins towards God, to each other and to the world around us.
I've been actively trying to do this and it weighs heavily on my heart. Not in a negative way. I think that feeling the weight of our shortcomings is important to our growth as people.  It's not fun though.

How may times have I spoken negatively about people I know? People I don't know? How many have I judged in my heart?  How many laughs have I had at others expense instead of reaching out a hand of kindness to them? I can't even begin to count...
The ultimate goal of this "remembrance of sin" is that we reconcile ourselves with God, each other and the world around us. We ask forgiveness and take steps towards altering our behaviour. I don't know if this works...but I do know that it sure is nice to deal with some of these things proactively and then to be able to look forward with a clean slate as it were. It's like putting down a heavy bag.