Chaim, my late uncle, my mum’s brother, passed away on Saturday morning. Chaim was a very special man: a philosopher of sorts, who lived life like a Greek Zorba with an open heart and inquisitive spirit, seeking to enjoy life while constantly aiming to grow, learn and understand it.
Chaim was to me an eternal student and teacher of sorts, with a theatrical stage presence, and a Socratic aura and appeal as he knew to ask you questions that when answering them you would align to your true self, and true desire.
As a young student in Athens, I sought his company. Meeting with him was always intriguing, involving a mix of drama, philosophy and psychoanalysis in a lively Mediterranean blend.
I was thinking of Chaim Nahmias the other day, at my mindfulness practice, when I volunteered reading a piece from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “The Art of Living.”
The title of the piece was “What Is Your Dream?”
Chaim was the person in the family who enjoyed asking me “What is your dream?” and further: “Do you pursue it?”
Chaim or Giorgos as he would call himself among Greeks in Greece would ask these questions his sisters, and brother, he would ask his mother, he would ask his respective wives, children and us his nieces and nephew. The mere asking, that was repeated at each of our encounters, served to awaken us to the important things in life.
Back to Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the most respectable Buddhist teachers, I read: “Every one of us has a deep desire to realize something in our lifetime. Whether or not you are aware of it, deep in your heart there is something you ve’always wanted to accomplish. Not just a fleeting wish but a deep intention that may have begun to grow in your heart while you were still very young.” Chaim’s Socratic way assisted me to get closer at each meeting to identifying my dream. And as he helped me, Chaim helped so many others.
When I focus on cultivating my dreams, day by day, in my life, when I breathe life and spirit into them, I connect to my uncle Chaim. I wish that his four children and all the family and friends he has left behind, honor his life, and carry on his legacy of self-questioning and self-investigation, to get clear on our respective dreams, and bring them forth gracefully.
As Thich Naht Hanh continues “When you identify and nurture your deepest desire, it can become a source of great happiness, energy and motivation. It can provide you with drive, with direction. It can sustain you through difficult moments.”
May we all endorse our dreams and be granted the power and passion to manifest them!
L’ Chaim! For Chaim.
From Jerusalem with love,
Yvette Nahmia-Messinas