On the first night of Hanukkah, as I uploaded this picture to Facebook, I was moved to write a short poem.
The next morning, I was surprised to see over 100 likes and 18 shares.
Here’s the poem that emerged:
The Miracle of Hanukkah Night 1: Humility
There is just one light.
Is it enough?
Am I enough?
It is exactly as it should be.
And so am I
The message is simple, and I guess it resonated. After all, does anyone sit there and complain that there is only one candle? One candle is enough.
Yet in other areas of our life, we yearn for more. It can be more material things, like more money, a “better” car, a bigger house… Once we start down that path, however, there is no end. “Whoever loves silver will not be sated with silver.” (Ecclesiastes 5:9).
Or we can yearn for more accomplishments. Recently when I was working on Envy, I noticed how I always reacted to news of other people being asked to speak in public. That reaction was very much related to my feeling of “enoughness.” When I feel like I am enough, I have either happiness or indifference to the accomplishments of others. But if I don’t feel like I am enough, I can long to be in another’s shoes.
When our Humility is out of balance, we focus too much on ourselves. This can come out at arrogance, or as doormatty feelings that the world singles us out for misfortune.
The poem offers an alternative, to practice Trust: All is as it should be, and that we are ok just as we are.
If you can Trust that you are enough (even if you don’t feel like we are enough), you can take action and experience the Hanukkah miracle of enoughness.
*****Here’s The Mussar Practice**********
Fill someone’s cup. As Jews, we are obliged to give Tzedakah, charity, to help those in need. Even those who receive Tzedakah are obliged to give, which highlights a recognition that the act of giving changes the soul. In a similar way, if you are not feeling like you are enough, focus your thoughts on helping someone else.
After all, as Rabbi Ira Stone teaches, the primary challenge of Mussar is the bear the burden of the other. So what better way to re-enforce our own sense of being enough than to give of ourselves?
If however, you are on the part of the spectrum where you are giving and giving and giving, such that you are starting to feel like a dried up twig, be sure to fill your own cup.
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Our history changed the moment that Moses noticed a flame that did not consume. Our history changed again when the oil that should have lasted only one day burned for 8 days. Once again, a flame burned but was not consumed.
You too, contain a Divine flame that burns but does not consume.
The real miracle of Hanukkah is to recognize that you are enough just as you are.
Want to know what parts of the soul influence your sense of enoughness? Take the Soul Trait Quiz Now
Knowing how to balance the giving is what I strive for. Remembering to fill my cup is not always easy, sometimes I fell guilty.. Thank you for this message.
Happy, Hanukkah! May the flames from the candles on the menorah burn brightly in your sole.
Thank you Hope. It sounds like you are in a place were you are recognizing where you are, which puts you in a strong position to change that over time. The more you fill your own cup, the more natural and ok it will feel.