As I was writing this article something happened to me that has never occurred to me before. I got what is known as writers block. I just could not continue writing. I found myself painfully extracting one word at a time. So I decided to take a walk, maybe, I hoped, I would be able to come up with something as I walked. I was yearning for some inspiration. And then I got it: I will write a article about the yearning for inspiration.
Life can sometimes be like writing a article. Sometimes it goes well and the article just flows out almost effortlessly but on occasion it just does not seem work. No matter how hard one tries. One starts writing and than one rubbishes it after a false start. After an hour or so one starts to feel very frustrated, one begins to yearn for inspiration. Why is it not working? One thinks. What’s wrong with me today?
In life when things go well one takes it for granted. We don’t take stock and count our blessings. Whereas when life does not go to plan, when we have our down days, weeks, months or years, during the times when we try as hard as we can, when it just does not seem to happen for us, we yearn for light. We beg for direction, we desire to know what we are doing wrong, why is it not working for us.
It is at times like this that we need to take a walk. A walk means taking time to look at things from a different perspective. A time to empty one’s mind from all the thoughts that currently fill ones mind and allow new inspiration to enter. This new inspiration allows us to see things from a different perspective. Often this is what we need so much in life.
We have all witnessed an insect trying to fly through a closed window. It heads straight for the window and bangs directly into it and then falls down. It gets up again and tries again, once more flying directly into the pane of glass. It does this repeatedly. The insect does not have the ability to realize that if it flew at a different angle it may be able to fly out of the open window nearby.
Materialistic life can often be monotonous and devoid of real meaning. The day-to-day difficulties of life can at times get one down. Things often don’t go according to plan. Rosh Hashanah is a time to look at life from a different perspective. In order to do this we must first empty all out preconceived notions out of our mind. We must allow the sound of the shoffar to penetrate calling us, towards greater spiritual awareness. We must allow the prayers to inspire us. But first we must take down our defences, the sentiments that are stopping the inspiration to effect us in a positive manner.
If there is one thing that we should be thinking on Rosh Hashanah it is this: how is the Rosh Hashanah message applicable to my life? What inspiration can I take from the prayers or the sound of the Shoffar that will allow me to see life from a different and more helpful perspective? Read the prayers in the English allow the words to penetrate your mind and heart. See how the words of the prayers are relevant to your particular challenge in life. Based on the inspiration one feels on Rosh Hashanah we must make firm resolutions that will make a positive contribution to our life.
We might want to think about adding a spiritual dimension to our lives, this may include coming to the synagogue more often, or making God a bigger part of our lives in a private manner or to give more charity. Let us use the inspiration of the day to take at least one step closer to our religion and to a more fulfilling life.