While I didn't begin writing Your Unfinished Life with the intention of making it a multi-cultural book, that also drew from various religious traditions, as I neared the end of the writing process, I was surprised to see just how many different religious, cultural and secular venues I had drawn from. As a Gentile, I am not well versed in Jewish tradition, but  I found some of those insights inspirational.

I came across this story which I found not only charming, but highly instructive. I don't know whether it is truly from Jewish tradition or not, but anyone would be proud to make it part of their own. "Joseph, a Jewish man, goes to heaven and meets St. Peter." (Maybe it's a Catholic tale too.) Joseph said, "Tell God I wish I had been more like Abraham.". God told Peter to say to him: "Tell him I'm sorry he wasn't more like Joseph." It's fine to model ourselves after others if it motivates us, but it's even more important to be uniquely ourselves and make our best contributions to others that way.

In Julie Salamon's excellent book Rambam's Ladder, she discusses Maimonides' "Ladder of Giving". She describes the Hebrew word tzedakah, which is thought to mean charity or justice. Both Jewish and Christian traditions, and others, arrive at the same conclusion, that kindness is  a matter of justice, not simply an option. The justice of kindness doesn't just relate to money, but to food, expertise or whatever one can offer.

Father Frederick Faber, a British priest, wrote a work called Kindness  in 1892. In it, he indicated the importance of using kind words, saying too that even though they can be short and easy to speak, their echoes are truly endless. This is taken to even a higher degree when such words are combined with deeds. Again, from Rambam's Ladder: Shammai, a noted Jewish rabbi and scholar puts a fitting conclusion to this when he said, "Say little and do much." One of my friends from India told me his father said to him many years ago that when we are thinking about doing something good, instead of just talking about it, we should do it "before we count to three." Remembering that can help us convert more good intentions into worthwhile deeds.

Your Unfinished Life is a guide to finding happiness, improved self-esteem and personal fulfillment - real success - through kindness. It is available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble,Baker and Taylor, Ingram and other leading booksellers. Chapter samples and reviews are available at http://www.YourUnfinishedLife.com