Lexus has a commercial out that was bothering me enough that I ranted to my husband about it. He suggested that perhaps some of that ranting might make for a good blog posting… thus these lines.
The commercial talks about all of your missed opportunities – the race you never ran, the ship around the world you never took, the novel you never wrote. And then it poses the one opportunity that you shouldn't miss. The opportunity to – da-dum! – buy a car.
I am appalled by this message, not just because I still hope to do some of those things, but because I can't honestly believe that anyone could propose that a car purchase could be the antidote to all the missed opportunities of life.
Is a car really going to make it OK that you never ran that race or wrote that book? What about all the contributions to the world that you could have made? Really, a CAR is supposed to make up for everything you've missed?? (This was about the point in my rant that my husband suggested a blog post.)
It's tough times in America (not a time when many people can afford, ahem, a Lexus) but I don't think we've gotten to the point where we can be persuaded to sell out on our dreams in exchange for expensive products. Have we?
Please write below – what dreams do you still intend to fulfill? What opportunities will you seize?
Let's show those car company what a true opportunity really means.
<See the video below. Don't, you know, get so entranced that you give up on all you are committed to and go buy a Lexus instead.>
Author
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Evonne Marzouk was the founder and executive director of Canfei Nesharim, working with rabbis, scientists, educators, and community leaders to create and distribute Torah teachings on the environment, and now serves on the executive board of GrowTorah and on the steering committee of Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA). She grew up in Philadelphia and received her B.A. in writing with a minor in religious studies from the Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of the Jewish spiritual novel The Prophetess, published by Bancroft Press in 2019; co-editor of Uplifting People and Planet: Eighteen Essential Jewish Lessons on the Environment; and most recently developed a new Heroine’s Journal which empowers teen girls and women to grow into all their gifts.