I often get signals from the universe when I am embarking on the right soul trait, and the upcoming Enthusiasm practice is no exception. This weekend someone asked a question on the Enthusiasm practice page about the following passage from Proverbs 24:
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”
It reminded me of a mantra I created for myself when I was younger: “Too much is never enough.” I liked to live 100% all the time. I was studying, working, dancing,, partying. Something had to be going on all the time. Is it a wonder that I became workaholic? There is never a right time for that mantra – it nearly led to disaster in my life.
As Ben Zoma said in Pirkei Avot 4:1 “Who is wealthy? The one who is happy with their portion.” All this go go go was to distract myself from low self esteem. When I became content with who I was, I recognized the abundance in my life and let go of the “always on” lifestyle.
Today when practicing Enthusiasm, I much prefer the mantra “Run to do good.” Yes, we want to proactively look for ways to make the world a better place. But it does not say “Always run to do good.” There are times when we need to rest and recover.
The Jewish holidays offer a great opportunity to slow down, look within, and allow yourself to recover. With that in mind, I’m going to cancel the Jewish Wisdom For Coping with a Pandemic gatherings on September 17, 24 and October 1st go give myself time for rest, recovery and a little more grief work.
What is it that you will focus on during the High Holidays? Is this a time for you to put some things on pause? Reply below – I’d love to know.
Image by Ralf Designs from Pixabay
It has been just over three months since my mother died. The acute pain has faded, but I find I miss her more every day. This weekend life gave me a few hiccups, small things that has an oversized impact on me. It was a perfect storm of misunderstandings that unsettled me. It was just the kind of thing I could talk to her about without embarrassment, and she would have helped me feel better.
Have you ever had something show up in your life at the exact moment when you need it? This happens to me all the time when it comes to the soul trait I am practicing. I must say this happened to me less often the last few months, as I sank into and then emerged from the fog of grief. But I was thrilled to experience it again a few days ago.
When I finally listened to the Hadestown soundtrack, I didn’t know whether to dance or cry.