Natural Life
By HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok. Copyright (C) 2006 by Ariel Bar Tzadok.
All rights reserved.
The laws of nature are what they are. One cannot break them or bend
them without consequence. This is just the way that things are. There
are no emotions, no feelings in nature. There is just what is.
We live in the world that is, not in the world that we want to be. We
live in reality, not in fantasy. How often is this simple truth
forgotten or denied by so many?
The secret of successful living is to live in the real world. The
secret to finding happiness is to accept and deal with what is instead
of always desiring for what is not.
There is much in life that we can control and then there is much more
in life that we cannot. It takes wisdom to discern the difference
between the two. Without such wisdom, life will forever be a struggle,
with one striving for that which one will never be able to attain.
This is the recipe for unhappiness and failure.
The laws of nature dictate what is. Heaven has ordained the way life
works. Natural living therefore is the Will and Way of Heaven. Doing
what we must, doing what we should, this is what Heaven expects from
us.
The Way of Heaven never contradicts the ways of life and living.
Heaven has placed around us the boundaries and parameters of nature.
In these, we thrive. It is only when one breaches these Heavenly
ordained boundaries of safe living that one moves into dangerous
terrain at one’s own peril. One who goes against the Way of Heaven
will face the inevitable consequences of one’s foolish choices. Why
would one choose a course as reckless as this?
Simplicity is the key to contentment. Life was never meant to be a
juggling act. Live was meant for living. Living was designed to be
both arduous and at the same time a joy. It is only when we throw off
our yokes of responsibility and obligation that we instead pick up the
mantle of pain and suffering. Yet, most do not want to see this. Most
prefer proud blindness rather than humble sight.
See life as it truly is. Stop fooling yourself with fantasies. Strive
to make better what can be better and let alone that which is best
left alone. Often the choice between the two is not yours to make.
Accept this and move on.
Always dream and hope, yet do not become so wrapped up in your dreams
that you forget to wake up and live a real natural life.
