It's been a wacky election season. So, looking for a glimmer of inspiration, maybe even a life-lesson, I begin to wonder what it's like to run for President.
I imagine that a Presidential campaign absolutely consumes the participants' total lives and brain space; I'd bet they brush their respective teeth with the election in mind.
It takes total commitment.
But, moving away from politics for now, is that type of head-to-toe engagement always healthy?
For example: When a person's business objectives, strategies and worries fill one's thoughts and mind 24/7, can one really make brain-space for a loved one? I don't think so. Sometimes we're too committed< too engaged, in life's sideshows (as important as they may feel at the moment).
So let's look at healthy 'total commitment,' like the commitment to 'Meaning.'
When I'm committed to the idea that I was created for a purpose, and that my family, occupation etc. are part and parcel of that Divine destiny, such focus imbues my life with a soul. When I'm committed to a meaningful life, my day becomes a consistent string of opportunities to embrace the goodness and G-dliness.
Such commitment isn't a distraction from the substance of life. To the contrary, it's life's soul, which inspires me toward work, family, self-rejuvenation, etc, in a substantive, prioritized way.
So, going back to the political metaphor, one might say that I'm running a campaign to win a meaningful life. G-d is my campaign manager, and His Torah guides my steps through the day. But the campaign needs to be front and center. It can never recede too far from my mind.
And it's possible. Torah tells me that healthy-minded people are hard-wired with the need for a meaningful life and a sense of destiny. This drive is already in your psyche. You don't create it; you find it.
When I get up in the morning, my prayers pro-actively bring that mindset into my consciousness, which makes prayer an extremely pivotal exercise for the day. Prayer is about setting the goal for a day, as an important slice of my larger life.
After launching with prayer, the rest of the day is all about the campaign.
So get into campaign mode.
And win something important