I wish you all of life’s blessings

I have been writing this column for six years now. It has been a joy, a privilege and an honour to have this little corner to talk about everything to do with finding your bliss.

The day the idea for the column was accepted by the editor was one of the happiest of my life. I was so grateful to the editor and his staff for their support, belief in me and confidence in the topic.

It has been thrilling to impart the wisdom of all of the wonderful authors, speakers and thinkers on subjects such as happiness, gratitude, kindness and overall well-being.

At first, I quoted a lot of the spiritual thinkers of our time, but then gradually my confidence grew, until I was able to write a column in my own voice, and that was a thrilling realization. Then came the emails and lovely comments of appreciation from readers, and people stopping me always to say, “I read your column. I loved it. We clip your columns and enjoy the feeling-good messages in each one.”

So after six years, this is going to be my last column.

To all of my readers, I thank you for your loyalty and support. A special thank-you goes to a man I’ve never met, who clipped every one of my columns and pasted them into a scrapbook that he reads often, enjoys and shares with others. I thank my incredible husband, Cliff, for his insight and editing suggestions. A thank-you to my wonderful children, Max and Lily, for their excitement and for being the inspiration for many of the columns, along with many of our friends, who gave me ideas, suggestions and even made it into the column!

But this column would have never have happened without a real inspiration. This column is dedicated to my father, Herbert E. Siblin, whose goodness, kindness, integrity, honesty and overall humanity was the basis for what this column is and what my life is all about.

Anyone who knows my dad will agree that his generosity of spirit, ethics and goodness are apparent in all he does. And so his way of being has always been a beacon of light, and this column was a way to share that. He would often rejoice in the columns, not even realizing that he infused almost every one of them, by just being a persona grata, the prince of a man that he is.

I’ll never forget when our family visited Israel for the first time and I wrote a column about it. My dad called immediately after reading the column and was very emotional. He told me he loved the column and that he had tears in his eyes when he read it.

I’ve learned a lot from my dad, including that being outwardly focused is a wonderful way to be, that being a mensch will always be the right choice and that you will always find happiness in bringing happiness to others. He also taught me that when it’s time to say goodbye, smile, be brave, be grateful and cheerful, and try to set a good example for others.

Dad, thank you for that wonderful advice, and I will continue to try to follow in your footsteps in every way that I can.

To my readers, I wish you all of life’s blessings, happiness and bliss always.

With love and gratitude, Judy Librach

Judy Siblin Librach is an Adler-trained life coach. She can be reached at www.findingyourbliss.com.