In life, we can either let our experiences make us bitter, or we can channel that feeling towards being a good example in order to improve things.



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Sunday, September 14, 2008

The 2 stages

I heard a great message in which the R' Akiva Tatz said that are are two stages in life. The first stage is easy and very nice, to help you get started. But in the second stage, you have to work at it. For example, when a baby is learning to walk, the parent holds the baby’s hands and the baby is very happy because they can’t fall. But later, the child has to try walk by him/herself. It’s very hard, and they fall and get up a number of times. But this is when the child really learns how to walk. And the parent is standing right there waiting for the child to come into their arms.

6 comments:

yitz said...

what about the third stage, in which the child learns how to walk and ceases to think of it as even a challenge?

smb said...

ah yes, very true, we sometimes grow accustumed to things and it becomes routine. This is also a challenge that a person has to work on. We have achieved our earlier goal, and now we have a new task to do. For example, the child in preschool learns to dance with classmates during music time. So too, we need to find ways to feel joy and meaning, whether it's in regards to mitzvos or marriage and so on. We might need some guidence to help us so we can be successful. The main thing is to keep making an effort :)

corner point said...

Nice idea.

Thanks :-)

the only way i know said...

heard it too and love that tape

the only way i know said...

yitz - i think that's the point of his message
inspiration is a gift - the rest - including when we're doing things by rote - is hard work

smb said...

Exacly, whether it's adding meaning to what we do, or working on something else, we need to keep trying. We might feel discourage or bored, once in awhile and that's understandable. But afterwards we should try to get back up and move forward.