Too many troubles? Be thankful
Synchronicity is a funny thing. dixon_green had an irritating day yesterday. Today my highschool friend with metastatic uterine cancer had her husband post this to the blog.
Esther asked me to post this excerpt from R. Twerski's It's Not as Tough as You Think. This was always an inspiration to her when she had 'many worries,' and now that we're seeing things 'from the other side' so to speak, it reminds her well that we often overrate our annoyances and don't enjoy life enough. She wants to share it with you in hopes that it will help make life an even great blessing for you:
May You Have Many Worries
Life is full of annoyances. You open your washing machine and discover that all your whites have a blue hue, because somehow a dark-blue sock was mixed in with the load. Or you rush downtown to take advantage of a spectacular sale, only to find that there are enormous bargains to be had -- in every size but yours. Or you turn the key in the lock and it breaks off, and your husband, who has the other key, is away on a business trip. There are minor annoyances or major annoyances. Obviously you become irritated, but how much irritation is justifiable?
On one of my trips to Israel I visited a friend, and asked him to pray at the Western Wall for my brother, who was ill with cancer. As I was leaving, he said, 'May you have many worries.'
I was taken aback by this remark. 'What kind of blessing is that?' I asked.
My friend explained, 'You see, it is impossible for there not to be any annoyances and irritations in life. Nothing ever goes completely smoothly. But if there is no single problem that is overwhelming, then we are bothered by a number of things that upset us. If there is one problem that is extremely grave, it obscures every other annoyance, and we are focused totally on that one major problem.
'Right now,' my friend continued, 'you are so concerned about your brother's illness, that nothing else bothers you. That is why having only one problem or worry is not good, because it means that this one problem is terribly serious. If you have many worries, that means that nothing is so bad that it drives away all the rest, and that is about as good as life can be.'
So next time you are irritated -- as, for example, it is late at night, say, 1 A.M., and your automobile alarm goes off, and you are simply beside yourself -- just think. Aren't there other things on your mind? Perhaps you just got the bill from the dentist for your son's braces, or there was water in the basement from the heavy rains this week. If you have any kind of normal life, you should be able to find a few other irritations. Then give thanks to G-d that you have many worries. G-d forbid you should have only one worry! The car alarm going off is not the end of the world by any means. It will shut off and resolve itself, just as the other worries --if there are many-- will be resolved in one way or another.
Some psychologists may teach you how to relax by expelling an irritating thought from your mind. My friend suggests another method, one which is much easier to accomplish and at far lesser cost: Bring in a few more worries, and then feel relaxed precisely because you have so many.
Esther asked me to post this excerpt from R. Twerski's It's Not as Tough as You Think. This was always an inspiration to her when she had 'many worries,' and now that we're seeing things 'from the other side' so to speak, it reminds her well that we often overrate our annoyances and don't enjoy life enough. She wants to share it with you in hopes that it will help make life an even great blessing for you:
May You Have Many Worries
Life is full of annoyances. You open your washing machine and discover that all your whites have a blue hue, because somehow a dark-blue sock was mixed in with the load. Or you rush downtown to take advantage of a spectacular sale, only to find that there are enormous bargains to be had -- in every size but yours. Or you turn the key in the lock and it breaks off, and your husband, who has the other key, is away on a business trip. There are minor annoyances or major annoyances. Obviously you become irritated, but how much irritation is justifiable?
On one of my trips to Israel I visited a friend, and asked him to pray at the Western Wall for my brother, who was ill with cancer. As I was leaving, he said, 'May you have many worries.'
I was taken aback by this remark. 'What kind of blessing is that?' I asked.
My friend explained, 'You see, it is impossible for there not to be any annoyances and irritations in life. Nothing ever goes completely smoothly. But if there is no single problem that is overwhelming, then we are bothered by a number of things that upset us. If there is one problem that is extremely grave, it obscures every other annoyance, and we are focused totally on that one major problem.
'Right now,' my friend continued, 'you are so concerned about your brother's illness, that nothing else bothers you. That is why having only one problem or worry is not good, because it means that this one problem is terribly serious. If you have many worries, that means that nothing is so bad that it drives away all the rest, and that is about as good as life can be.'
So next time you are irritated -- as, for example, it is late at night, say, 1 A.M., and your automobile alarm goes off, and you are simply beside yourself -- just think. Aren't there other things on your mind? Perhaps you just got the bill from the dentist for your son's braces, or there was water in the basement from the heavy rains this week. If you have any kind of normal life, you should be able to find a few other irritations. Then give thanks to G-d that you have many worries. G-d forbid you should have only one worry! The car alarm going off is not the end of the world by any means. It will shut off and resolve itself, just as the other worries --if there are many-- will be resolved in one way or another.
Some psychologists may teach you how to relax by expelling an irritating thought from your mind. My friend suggests another method, one which is much easier to accomplish and at far lesser cost: Bring in a few more worries, and then feel relaxed precisely because you have so many.