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Health & Fitness

I have a beard...but that's not all

Having a beard taught me something about human interaction in the Palisades.

 

Have you ever been in the line at the village Starbucks, Coffee Bean or bank and noticed that you recognize many of the people in the line or sitting around you? Not because you know them per se but because your weekly routine crosses over with theirs. They happen to have a “one o’ clock” the same time you do on a Friday afternoon. 
What about when you are in traffic on Sunset and recognize the car in front of you.  Again, not because the driver is a friend of yours, but because you recognize the clever bumper sticker or the position of their proudly displayed "Student of the month" window sticker. 
When these coincidences happen to me, I suddenly remind myself of how small our little worlds are. The people you walk past, line up with, push a shopping cart past are not really strangers. They are friends you just haven't formally met yet. If there was something memorable about the random people you passed by during your daily routine, you would realize that these individuals are not just strangers or "extras" cast into your life, but people you probably see and get seen by all the time.
Human nature is such that when you recognize someone even if you have never shared a conversation with them before, but nonetheless notice them regularly, you become interested in them and their life. Ever said to a friend over a drink, "I see him in here all the time; I wonder what he's doing here."

That brings me to my beard. Having a beard makes me recognizable. Let's face it, the majority of the population don't have one or want one...not to mention that 51% of the population can't even grow one. Of course as an orthodox Chabad rabbi there are other things that make me stick out of the crowd.
“Sticking out” makes me aware that my actions are being noted and remembered and without doubt make me more conscious of my public behavior. I wouldn’t say that this super awareness causes me to wait for three seconds before crossing every local stop sign, but it does encourage sensitivity towards my public behavior and the duty to be a positive influence on others particularly teens and young adults.

Should I need these external characteristics to remind me to be good to my fellow and set the right public example to our younger generation?

No. I should probably be sensitive enough without it, but hey...

Living the Palisades village life for the past four and a half years has taught me that, around here, we all stick out, beard or no beard. It is impossible not to. Not even one of us can walk around inconspicuously.

Each one of us is the person we recognize at the farmers market or walking our dogs on the bluffs. But I say that it's a good thing, our public behavior makes a difference to those who observe and learn from us. We are all neighbors and a community. We are not strangers but friends we haven't formally met yet.

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