I speak from experience – I was given a second chance. I was fortunate enough to survive and completely recover from a cardiac arrest in 2001. I was extremely lucky that this event happened while I was in a major teaching hospital’s operating room.
Since that time, I believe that I have become a much better person. It has taken me several years but I have completely changed my life. I began this process by going through a divorce, freeing myself from a marriage that had not been happy for many years. I have since joined and become extremely active in a shul and in the total Jewish community – something that I had not participated in for many years. I now attend shul everyday and participate in the morning Minyan.
Life is now so much more beautiful for me with shul and Torah in my life. I have a host of new friends – good, caring ones. I have no family in this city and when the Yomtovim are here, I have more invitations than I can handle. I donate as much money as I can afford to various Tzedakah funds and have begun my personal tzedakah project, where I bake and sell my specialty cake and donate all the money to charity.
None of this would have been possible in my “old” life, as my spouse would not attend shul – even on Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur and believed that “charity begins at home”. He was antisocial and didn’t want much to do with friendships. Of course, in those days, it would not have occurred to me to attend shul or social functions on my own.
Since my “rebirth” in 2001, I thank Hashem daily and believe that I have become a far better person.
PS: This is my first post here.