“I haven’t stopped looking at my phone for the past 48 hours. The buzzing is constant. Another rocket. Another rocket. Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzz. Bout to have PTSD” – Someone on social media.
The most natural thing that people do in the face of struggle is to focus on everything else except the real issue.
Blaming others, blaming the system and endlessly discussing the narrative are the most common go-to- places people run to, instead of dealing with the issue.
What unfortunately happens, is that we never learn to internalize the issues or tragedies and since we never learn the proper coping mechanisms, we tend to repeat the cycle when situations unfortunately strike again.
Case in point, the recent Meron tragedy, where 45 people lost their lives in the most horrific way.
Instead of using this tragedy as a steppingstone for growth, we endlessly focus our limited attention on everything else. We focus on who is to blame, which Jew-hater said what on social media and the nuanced responses of local and global politicians (Disclaimer: I am writing this article to myself. I tend to do these things).
Imagine if instead of focusing on things we as individuals can do nothing to change, we fully focus our energy on improvement. Improvement on oneself and improvement in the world.
Imagine if we use the tragedy of Meron to build unity amongst fellow Jews of all kinds and stripes.
Imagine if we use the tragedy of Meron as a springboard to triple the amount of Chessed we do, with a focus on those who suffered the most from the tragedy.
Imagine if we increase the amount of time we study Torah and dedicate that extra time to the memories of the lives tragically lost.
Imagine if we take this tragedy of Meron to internalize the fragility of life and take life-changing steps to maximize the time we have left in this world.
Or take the current high tensions in Israel. Imagine if, instead of expending our limited energy endlessly discussing what the army should do, what steps politicians should take and what the global narrative is and what it should be (which all 3 are, by the way, literally nothing that we as a single person can change), we focus on using these trying times as an opportunity for growth.
Imagine if we took this tension-filled time to give proper thanks to Hashem for the many recent months of quiet we have had in the past and to pray for quiet in the future.
Imagine if we use this tension-filled time to fully appreciate the privilege of living in Israel, an opportunity that Jews for thousands of years have yearned for.
Imagine if we internalized these high tensions all around us to appreciate the beauty of life and increase the love for our families, loved ones, children, and our connection to ourselves.
I won’t insult anyone’s intelligence by pretending that I know why tragedy happens. But I do know that the events of the last month have shaken us and I will be using them as steppingstones for growth.
What can I, as one person, do? A lot.
To quote Cher; “The only thing in the world you can change is yourself and THAT makes all the difference in the world”
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