Thank you everyone who shared with me thoughts and updated me on how they are doing! It is very appreciated, and it helps me to keep going with the writing.

As I was preparing to write today, I saw a quote from the German Poet, Goethe, that is appropriate to the topic that I want to discuss. Thank G-d for the providence!

Goethe said as follows, “Energy is the basis of everything. Every Jew, no matter how insignificant, is engaged in some decisive and immediate pursuit of a goal… It is the most perpetual people of the earth…”

It was quite fascinating and even comical to realize how goal-oriented our culture is. However, I think that all Western Society is very goal oriented, not just the Jews. We think in terms of goals and in patterns of achievements.

This is certainly positive and has brought the West farther than other civilizations in many areas. However, goals are not life. Life is lived in the present. The imagination of a goal and working towards it, can obscure the real living of the now. The past and future are not real, they are not lived anymore or not lived yet. If the past or future overtake our thoughts, we are missing the spark of the present. Focusing on the present makes us live it and breath it. This is true with career, physical, and even spiritual goals.

So how does the enjoyment of goal setting vs. living the now reconcile? The answer is that within working towards the goal, one can be living the present. Meaning, the goal only sets a course of action, but to live life, it is not enough to focus just on the conclusion. Every step in the way is part of life. The steps are not a means to achieve the goal. Instead, the goal is a mean to center the steps in a meaningful order.

For example, every employee works for their paycheck, but that doesn't mean that every moment is just lived for the paycheck. The worker can enjoy and find fulfillment in the skills and work they do. The goal motivates the day to day work, but the place where life and enjoyment lie are in the moments.

Currently, in the Jewish Calendar there is a Mitzvah (commandment) to count the Omer, which is counting the days between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. Shavuot is the holiday that we received the Torah - the Word of God. In excitement to that holiday we count the days. What is interesting is, that we don't count down, as would have been expected, but we count up, 1-2-3, etc.

The reason for it is because counting down means that we can't wait for these days to finish and finally reach the goal. This is not good, because the goal obscures the living of the now. Counting up means, that every day counts up to a summit at the end. All the days are part of it and each day can and should be lived fully. By living each day fully, we reach the goal. The days and steps are not means to the goal but they are part of the goal and every part of it is valuable in itself.

This brings me to the situation we are in now with the virus and the lockdown. We are all waiting to go back to normal. At every piece of news, we try to imagine how it would lead to the end of the turmoil. This is very normal, and we shouldn't lose sight of the end, but it shouldn't be our only focus. If it is, we will lose the real living, which is living the moments that we have now. The main focus should be on the present and to enjoy life as it's being lived.

The best advice to live this way, is by minimizing consumption of the news to a set time in the day and not more than twice a day. Once our focus will not be on the desperation to get out of the situation, our soul will automatically start focusing on what we are doing now, and it will derive pleasure from the living moments.

Comments? Email me: moshe@jaketv.tv