In our constant quest to ascend to spiritual heights or even
advance a little bit here on earth, we seem to be constantly
stymied by the need to maintain the status quo. Before we
move forward or upward, we need to maintain our current
position and deal with our day-to-day obligations.
Everything from brushing our teeth, eating, paying the bills,
doing the dishes and scores of other mundane but necessary
activities steals time and energy from achieving,
accomplishing, progressing, fulfilling. While time-saving
gadgets are constantly being invented and upgraded to cut
down on the daily grind, other more modern daily occupations
have taken their place and so, we seem to be spending an
inordinate amount of time just running in place to keep up
the pace. You just finish doing the laundry, eating lunch,
paying a bill and you have to do it again. We so want to
start to grow and blossom but we expend so much effort just
taking root. You get the idea.
So how does one progress on a treadmill? Well, one way is
ATTITUDE. After all, the survival of the Jewish people is an
end in itself and as our history has unfortunately shown, no
mean feat. Surviving in and of itself, whether as a nation, a
family or an individual is an achievement.
Another attitude is GRATITUDE. If we can brush our own teeth,
swallow our meals and experience the Jewish yearly cycle,
especially in Israel, in the bosom of our family, there's a
lot to be grateful for. Even reading this paper is something
to be grateful for. And isn't that just what Hashem wants for
us?
There's also PERSPECTIVE. We can crowd into the most mundane
moments, the most extraordinary achievements. Well, perhaps
the small acts in themselves may not seem out of the
ordinary, but we've heard enough stories to know that a well-
placed smile, greeting or kindness can have a ripple effect
that alters history. We can infuse our acts, thoughts and
prayers with world-altering significance.
And of course, when all is said and done, finally, we do have
a few minutes, if not hours, left over to achieve, fulfill
our dreams and pull ourselves another rung up the ladder of
success in whatever sphere pleases us. Like R' Akiva's water
on the rock analogy, we can make our mark, a little bit every
day; a few more words to read or write on a page, a few more
stitches, a few more bars of music, a few more shekels, a few
more mitzvos.
It is best to bear in mind that we really do not have an
inkling which of our most prosaic or poetic actions are the
ones that are of the utmost importance or are the most
cherished by Hashem.
All we can do is make the most of the time we have and give
every moment our all.
