Friday, September 25, 2015

HOW TO WIN THE BATTLES OF LIFE



Errors. Mistakes. Waiting in lines for computers to correct them. Someone bungles. You lose money, they have to correct their mistakes and refund you. Things go wrong. Failures happen. What kind of day are you having: a good day or a bad day? Some days will be good and some days will be bad. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone sins. No one is exempt. No one is perfect. Not even G-d. G-d destroyed all of Sodom and Gomorrah even though there could have been one innocent person living there, but G-d destroyed the innocent right along with the guilty--an error made by G-d. Perfection is just a condition of fiction, and it does not have a base in reality. Wherever you gaze there will be a speck of dust no matter how hard you clean, total purity is just another fictitious condition, the state of being totally pure does not exist.

We can strive to get closer and closer to the perfect, to the pure, and it is good to try to improve. But know that there always will be a bad day, there always will be a mistake, an error, or worse yet, an advertent attempt to upset your day. There will always be someone who upsets the apple cart, if you are not prepared for an upset, then an apple you will not eat. And an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so being prepared for an emergency is extremely important. It is good to "let it ride" so to speak, to understand perfection does not exist, and that there will inevitably be a bump in the road.

So now we realize that there will be bumps, and we will be mentally prepared for these bumps in the road and expect them. What to do when there is a bump? Make sure your shock absorbers can take it. Exercise, take care of your health, sleep at night, eat right: so your body and mind can take the extra stress caused by the bump in the road.

Then pray to G-d, say: "Hashkinenu Adonai!" which means "Help us, G-d!" Ask G-d for protection and strength to deal with the extra negative stress, and then meditate, rest and relax, let time heal the effect of the stress by dulling it with distractions.

Forgive the offender. Feel sorry for him, and this will take away the anger. Have compassion. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Do not blame him, tell yourself that he is unfortunate and he did not mean to hurt you, (even if this is not the total truth, convince yourself that goodness abounds everywhere.) And when you are in a world of goodness, you will feel blessed and secure. Study Torah everyday and this will definitely help!

Make sure that you do something you love to do and do it everyday. If you are a writer, write everyday, an artist, paint everyday. Do not depend on the opinions of others for inspiration to write or do whatever it is you do. Writing or cooking or acting, whatever it is that makes you happy is something you do for yourself and you do not need a friend's or parent's approval to do it. People will inevitably say things to hurt you, people trash on others sometimes. Mortals make mistakes and cannot be trusted. Do not internalize it. Get back up and back into the fight of life--again and again.

Do something that brings you happiness and success even if it breaks the rules. Don't do anything illegal, but if someone says that it is not within the "status quo" to do something, do it anyway if it is a good thing to do. Believe in yourself, even if no one else does. Do it and do it well. Keep doing it and become an expert.

This is the sure way to win all battles and come out on top, and be able to enter another battle and keep winning. 

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