Looking straight ahead

When I was growing up, I was mesmerized by the Fiakers, the horse drawn carriages clattering over the ancient cobblestones of Vienna. I admired these noble animals not only for their elegance but for their calmness. They walked with dignity, unbothered by the traffic, crowds, and noise.
Their secret was simple: the blinders on either side of their eyes. They saw only what was in front of them, not the chaos around them.

Years later, I found myself in a very different setting: Las Vegas, where we had come for the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) weekend.
All I wanted was to get to the convention center where the program was taking place and focus on the reason we had come.
It was Shabbat, our day of rest, a time meant for calm and inner peace.
Yet everything around me was the opposite,
lights flashing, music blasting, crowds moving in every direction.
I imagined myself as one of the Lippizaner horses, wearing invisible blinders, shielding my eyes and mind from the chaos around me.

Looking straight ahead is not about shutting the world out,
it’s about choosing what deserves to enter my mind.

I am trying so hard to teach this exact lesson to our grandchildren: to focus and not let themselves be distracted and pulled in every direction by the dazzling “Vegas” world around them.