Is there such a thing as a life without stress?
Actually, it seems that G-d has built stress into our lives.
If we’re self-aware, there will always be a tension – a healthy stress - between our dreams and our reality, between the ideal and the real.
On the one hand, we need to dream, to set far-reaching objectives.
On the other hand, we need to recognize our present reality and plant our feet firmly on the ground.
In Jewish life, we pray three times a day, focusing on who we can be, and setting an over-arching goal for the rest of the day.
We have a day-long introspection-
And then there's Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur, we get into a different reality.
Dressed in white, abstaining from normal human pleasures, and focused inward, we're disengaged from our usual distractions. We’re free to soar.
Yom Kippur is all about vision. We set our sights on our own destiny and potential; we envision a life of meaning, balance and connectedness.
That’s vision. But how do we reconcile that with our reality?
How does it dovetail with a hectic life of family, business and life's bumps?
Consider the following story:
A peasant once did a special favor for his beloved King. Wanting to repay the peasant, the king decided to give him a unique gift: a nightingale who sang the sweetest songs a human could hear.
A short while later, the king summoned the peasant and asked how he was enjoying the gift.
The peasant answered “In truth, your Majesty, the meat was a little tough, but it tasted okay in a stew with potatoes.”
Life’s obstacles and responsibilities are like that bird. The question is: Do I see the challenge as a nightingale….or lunch?
As I look inward on Yom Kippur, I need to recognize that the introspection is a necessary guide to life; but life itself, with all its curveballs, is what is meaningful.
Yom Kippur is only one day a year. Shabbat is only one day a week. And we pray for a limited time every day.
That’s the dream.
The rest is life.
Dealing with life is where my Torah values come into play. I need to recognize my nightingales.
And let them sing.
D Marcus wrote...
I imagine peasants often lived in survival mode and food on the table was more important than most other things.
Of course music is an important part of making life worth living, but less so at any given moment in time if you're starving.
Perhaps the king should have overcome his own daily stresses to get to know the peasant's situation better before bestowing his gift.