Oftentimes,
we resemble the man in the story below from the Jewish
mystical tradition: We hurry -- to
get somewhere, to get something done, to fulfill some
task. Such a ‘hurrying’ attitude can become habitual,
and the hurrying itself begins to be more critical to us than
what we are actually hurrying towards. The next time you notice that
you are hurrying, ask yourself, “What will happen if I simply
stand still and breathe deeply for a moment?”
The Rabbi of Berditchev saw a man hurrying along the street looking
neither right nor left. “Why are you rushing so?” he
asked him.
“I am after my livelihood,” the man replied.
“And
how do you know,” continued the rabbi, “that your
livelihood is running on before you, so that you have to rush
after it? Perhaps it is behind you, and
all you need do to encounter it is to stand still—but
you are running away from it!”
—from Tales
of the Hasidim
by
Martin Buber
Schocken Books, Inc. ©1947, 1975
Book One p. 226
We
all know what it's like to be interrupted when we we are in the
middle of an important task. We feel frustrated that our focus
is disturbed. Perhaps we place too much importance
on our part of the equation and not enough on God’s. When
you are interrupted try asking yourself, “How can I be
attentive to the presence of God in this interruption?”
Another time the Rabbi of Berditchev saw a man in the marketplace,
a man so intent upon his business that he never looked
up. He stopped him and asked: “What are you doing?”
The
man answered hurriedly: “I have no time to talk
to you now.”
But
the zaddik refused to be snubbed. He repeated his questions: “What
are you doing?”
Impatiently
the man cried: “Don’t
delay me. I have to attend to my business.”
But
the rabbi insisted. “All right,” he
said. “But
you, yourself—what are you doing? Everything
you are so worried about is in the hands of God, and
all that is in yours
is to fear God.”
—from Tales
of the Hasidim
by Martin Buber
Schocken Books, Inc. ©1947, 1975
Book One pp. 226,
227
To
purchase a copy of TALES
OF THE HASIDIM,
visit amazon.com. This link is provided as a service to explorefaith
visitors and registered users.
|
