Sunday Story time! The very fabulous Melissa Nahshon…some people take good and kind to a whole new level.

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“I have been in Israel for 17 years, I was a nurse in Australia for 22 years. The moment I arrived I knew I was going to have to re-invent myself, as I didn’t have the Hebrew to transfer my credentials. I was always good at organizing things and would always be helping someone organize their home. At some point my friends encouraged me to get paid for it rather than doing it for free – and so I created my business – “Order in the House” and I joined an English speaking networking group for small businesses (N4ES), which I now manage.

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I’m passionate about seeing other people “make it” here, as it just is really hard at times. I was lucky that I found amazing people in the beginning, people who have really kept me here. When you are away from home and family, you make friends in a much quicker and deeper way, the people you don’t really connect with don’t end up staying a part of your life. When I arrived, I had many challenges, in time I made connections and discovered resources through trial and error and I wanted to give others access to it – Networking for me was less about business and more about sharing the resources – just making life in this often-difficult place easier.

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To re-invent yourself you have to be willing to think outside the box, trust that your skills and passions can surface in other ways. It’s hard to try new things, believe me, I did everything from cleaning houses to you name it. I had to feel that even in Israel I was able to pull my own weight. I could never sit and drink coffee all day, if I didn’t work – I’d have to join a gym…and I really didn’t want to do that!

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For me the nursing comes up in unexpected ways – for example, I get a lot of satisfaction in connecting with people, I know how to listen to people, get a sense of what they need and who they will mesh with – which is helpful when you run a networking group. I love the idea of just slowing down, giving people time – really asking them “Mah Nishmah” – not in a goody goody way – but because I think it is really missing here. Our attention to each other matters.

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One Shabbat I woke up with the idea that I was just going to smile at everyone I passed, and I’m telling you it really made a difference, well, except for the odd person who thinks that you are completely touched (needing psychiatric help)!!”