what is a green bubbie

First of all, a 'Bubbie' is a Yiddish word for grandmother- every culture, language had its own name for this relationship, and within families idiosyncratic names emerge -- usually from the first adorable utterance of a first grandchild. The warm associations with the name "Bubbie" may be from previous generations, when families lived within inches of each other, and generations shared language and religion as well as meals together.

Today families are spread out geographically and spiritually. The definition of 'family' keeps changing, and in many corners, the multi-generational Jewish family could be nominated for the endangered species list.

So, in this rapidly changing world, I'd like to offer a new relationship for consideration: it's "the Green Bubbie." I have been toying with "the Green Bubbie" for over a year- I wasted months thinking of it as a non-profit organization, or considering it as a for profit company. I concluded that there is nothing the Jewish community needs less at this time that another non-profit, and on the other hand, there is nothing we need more that a renewed sense of 'family.' And who could be more nurturing, accepting, connecting than a Bubbie- full of the wisdom of our sages, coupled with the passion and know how to plant real seeds and bring beauty and meaning to the (younger) generations around us.

So, I see a " Green Bubbie" as a person who can draw on her roots to establish relationships. She also knows how to plant real seeds, and how and when to pull the carrots out of the ground. Now, you don't have to be Jewish to have a Green Bubbie- and when I first started with this idea, people thought it was about teaching preschoolers how to garden. Well, that may be true, but it is also about establishing relationships with 30 and 40 somethings- it turns out, people are 'open for wisdom' and and there seems to be no limit on the number of caring relationships you can build. In this world, the more you give away materially, the less you have, But on a spiritual level, the more you give , the more you 'are' the more you 'become' and realize all you can be. It's shifting perspectives from a world defined by what you have, to a world of becoming all you can be!