Did you rise to the occassion of Today's Challenge?
Origianl Un-editied writing by:
Aharon Moshe (AhMbDvd) Sanders
It is very easy to get all excited and bent out of shape. Everyone can increase the volume of their voice and turn towards yelling. Alas, here is one for you, how about when you really get upset, and feel like your going to lose your cool, try quieting down and truly listening to the person you are apeaking withIn
In last weeks Nesivos Shalom we learned about how every single day brings us a new challenge. The sections we read (in our Passaic host's home) relate directly to the upcoming parsha. It now seems like so long ago, but wow, think of how many unique tests missions, interactions were to be handled by our father Avraham in truly gelvadic day.
Visitors at Avraham's door. Beseeching/ davening to Hashem to save Sodom from total destruction for a mere minion of 10 righteous individuals. So much more..... I leave straight pashat literal meaning (as in the "up-shot" is) to others, as well as basic drasha (basic mining or digging for meaning) to tohers who are so much better at this then I am.
Just like our Avos we are constantly faced with a seemingly un-ending onslaught of decisions, things we should or need to do. People who want and need our attention. Mixed in with the everyday or so called mundane matters are also the biggies. The brach we might want to ask Hashem for is to be given enough insight to realize when when of the big (or tikkune type) decisions is standing opposite us, and demanding our attention.
Then, just maybe we can have a hope or a prayer to give the extra-special attention to this earth shaking, life changing moment. At this point we now still need Hashem's help. Recosgnizing that you are at a life changing (tikkkune type) crossroad, is only half the battle. Now you might want to take a deep breath, allow to conversation volume to drop, even physically step back, and try to get a grip on the now evolving larger picture.
Often when you truly look to Hashem in a moment of clear thinking, the answer becomes so simple and obvious that you may have never even considered it. It my case one of today's answers went like this:
Yes, of course I was wrong (but did not want to admit it), I should not have tried to act alone to change an agreement between two people. However, you are now using the very same logic which made me wrong, to invalidate our entire agreement, and we do know that two wrongs do not make a right.
Such an obvious answer never would have hit me, however I conscisously decided to let go of my axe which I was so buzy gringing to listen to the other person who had a legitimate gripe of his own.
After that I decided not to send an axe grinding e-mail ( on a totally separate matter ) . After all we have been keeping these arguments verbal till now, so why should I take the next step!
In times of great emotion we need to use our energy like an old time carburator with a car that idle's too high at a red light. Shift into neutral (stop judging and listen) , give a little gas to the engine (more whole brain utilization) then you will notice that the engine is now purring (quiet wisdom/insight based thinking) as opposed to running much to quickly and loudly (reactive mind stuff, some one pushed, you push back- thinking gets forgotten)...
All for now...
We should now approach Wed, with a renewed sense of how things should be for us, and those who are dear to us...
Lets learn more Nesivos Shalom
Aharon Moshe Sanders
November 7, 2007 4:05pm Passaic NJ
