Kicking It Up A Notch

I assume it’s a pretty common scenario.

Somebody's walking life’s path, oblivious to his own benign neglect, when suddenly...boom! He hits his 'brick wall'.

Maybe it’s a family member or an accountant, perhaps a client or an employer; somebody perceives the truth and yells “Stop! This can't continue; something needs to change.”

It’s an unpleasant, jarring disruption to life's rhythm.

It’s also an important wake-up call. And even though it’s painful, the stress can serve as productive energy, propelling us out of our rhythm’s gravitational pull.

In a way, that’s the Passover story.

Simply put: The Jews were slaves in Egypt, Moses dislodged them from their captivity and our ancestors escaped “in haste”.

It’s also a personal story: We each have our own ‘Egypt’ - our own counter-productive cycles.

When we’re fortunate, our ‘Moses’ – our soul-conscience, or perhaps a spouse or business associate – points out our negative patterns. The recognition hurts, but we can channel the pain so that it chases us – catapults us - to a better place.

In Passover language: We are impelled to urgently ‘leave Egypt in haste”.

Actually, the word ‘Pass-Over’ [also] refers to the liberating leap from a spiritually constricted life to a visionary, conscious one.

But what about the times when I’m not escaping an Egypt? When things are just ‘normal’? When I feel no friction and face no brick walls?

Then, we face a different danger: Complacency.

When I feel that I’m on a good path, I’m more likely to put my life on auto-pilot.

I can relax; after all, if I’m not being chased, why run?

Because.

Because when I’m on ‘auto-pilot’, I float along life’s current, without the initiative to go quicker than the stream.

Because when I’m on ‘auto-pilot’, I’m without the quickened pulse, without the butterflies in my stomach, that accompany a quantum leap forward.

G-d expects more, and my life deserves more.

We shouldn’t only grow to escape the pain, we should grow because we have great potential and a beautiful destiny.

So the Torah gives me a new exercise: It’s called ‘The Second Passover’ (‘Pesach Sheini’ in Hebrew) and it’s about finding the strength to ‘Pass-Over’, to leap forward in my life even when I’m comfortable where I am.

It’s about me taking the opportunity to consider where my life is going RIGHT, and finding the strength, vision and humility to make go even MORE RIGHT.

This Friday, Iyar 14/May 8, is Pesach Sheini.

Have a piece of Matzah (Matzah is a primary Liberation tool, in that it embodies the humility that we need for authentic growth).

Then focus on a growth-objective. Pass-Over your own inertia, and meet your potential.

Because finding Freedom isn’t only about leaving captivity; it’s about taking a leap forward.