[HIGH HOLY DAYS | Rabbi Abba Perelmuter ]
When we recognize that life is more about what we are needed for than what we need, we have found life’s purpose.
__________________________________
Being able to let go of our favorite pastimes, to live without them and remain content when we can’t have them, is the definition of maturity. Life is more than the accumulation of possessions, homes and enjoyable moments. It is greater than the opportunity to have fun and be stimulated. Life is a platform on which we rise above ourselves.
When we willingly surrender our own comforts to share with another, we catch a glimpse of life’s treasures. When we are left without our usual crutches and retain our equilibrium, pitting ourselves against the world and placing our faith in G-d, we experience life‘s meaning. When we recognize that life is more about what we are needed for than what we need, we have found life’s purpose.
Living with purpose isn’t just a meaningful way to live, it’s also enjoyable. There is more joy to be gained from giving than taking. There is more happiness to be gleaned from bestowing than acquiring. Depriving ourselves from something we perceive as important and learning that we are bigger than it, larger than we gave ourselves credit for, and capable of living without it, brings us face to face with our true selves.
It is how we discover the measure of our potential and learn the extent of our promise. It is the litmus test of maturity. It proves that we are greater than the self we thought we were.
This can’t be achieved in a day. Not even in a month, a year, a decade or a lifetime. It is a journey of small steps with no end goal. There is no way to tell precisely how selfless and how deep we will be on our last day. The only rule is this. Ensure that each day is deeper than the last and shallower than the next. Keep growing and never let up. In life there will always be ebbs and flows, but the general trajectory should be forward not backward, upward not downward.
To do this we need a plan. As Rosh Hashanah approaches we need to sit down and take inventory. What are the things or areas in my life that take up a disproportionate amount of my time? To what am I assigning more meaning and allocating more energy that it warrants? If I scale back on this area, how will I fill that time and with what will I replace that vice?