Living with Emunah (Part 356)

Good morning, Booker. Welcome back to Living with Amuna. I have to tell you, I enjoyed and loved our vacation. It wasn't a vacation, it was a family trip. If you want to know the difference between the two, I'm happy to tell you all about it another time. But our family trip was fantastic and phenomenal. Among the things that I missed was this year, was the living with Amuna. As I say, I don't know if you believe me, this is really uh for me. It's my support group that inspires me and motivates me. to remember and to live and to practice what we preach to live with amuna. So I really missed it. It's great to be back together. I'm so glad that you're here. Those who are in person afterwards we'll continue with our question and answers trying to motivate and inspire people to come in person and got to give a little bit more content to those who live locally. So afterwards we have our question and answer on any topic hasha. anything that you think is controversial, anything that you think is sensitive on any topic we do in person afterwards, not streaming and not recorded but wherever you are and to be part of learning together amuna is very very special. Amuna series is generously sponsored. We remain very grateful to our dear friends Avi and Bella Morgan in memory of Rabbi Dr. Brian Galbat in memory of Bella's mother Dr. and Chanzer and in honor of our Israeli soldiers and please God in the prayer of the return of all of the hostages this morning sponsored by Kabum in honor of his dear wife our dear friend Ivet who had a successful surgery she should have a speedy and a painless and a complete Rafuma we need I bet back at full strength it's sponsored this morning for Rafu Schlma Sarah Makabas Mind Esther who had surgery having surgery this morning. It should go smoothly, be successful, she should have a complete and speedy Rafua Schlma. And I personally want to dedicate our learning this morning to two very special families, two dear friends of ours who did tremendous for us this summer, our dear friends Rachel and Alex Katz and Danielle. Daniel and Danielle Schneller, who were very helpful to us. And I want to say what makes them outstanding and they'd be upset if I'm calling them out and thanking them publicly, but from the bottom of our hearts, what makes them outstanding? When someone does you a favor but acts and makes it like you're doing them the favor, there's nothing kinder in the world because it's hard to receive and it's hard to take and it's hard to need help. And when someone does something nice for you and does it in such a way that they make you feel like you're doing them a favor, it's the highest level. So they've taught us both both those families have taught us in the friendship and the help they gave us this summer. So a huge huge thank you to the cats and to the schnellers when we get back into our learning together. So one of the things when I um when I travel when I take a break is having the privilege to meet people all over and from all over who are part of our network and our community. And I say this and I submit this to you as humbly as I can. I have this to sit on this side of the table and the camera and to learn the amuna that we're learning to read the emails that I receive. But it's all of us. Don't make any mistake. We are a community and a movement of people who are working on living with amuna. And when I run into people all over who say embrace your place, you are where you're meant to be. Let go and let God. And we're working on it. We're growing in it. It is so inspiring and so gratifying and it moves me so deeply and it motivates me to say we need to double and triple and get more people in our community because we're not some cult and I don't get any benefit and I don't make one penny off of any of the merch or off of any of these shurim all the sponsorship and everything goes to help our sh to help our community to continue to teach. It's not about me but it's about us. It's about we and it's such an honor and such a privilege and we have some big ideas and please God we'll share them this year to be able to expand and grow and reinforce and help. I missed I got back to this morning was the first morning back at our cola booker 6:15 with my cup that was reminding me to caffeinate with kavana. Now I caffeinated the whole time I wasn't here. I promise you I caffeinated every day that I wasn't here. But I can't tell you I caffeinate with as much cavana as I do when I look at that cup and it is a vivid reminder challenging me every morning. Don't forget, don't just gobble and gulp down the coffee, but caffeinate with cavana. So we have ideas. We want to do more and spread more and share more. But I just wanted to express how grateful I am to you, those in person and those who join us online. And we're really a community and we're really and we're really reinforcing and supporting one another and changing our lives. And I'll just share with you some of these emails because I think they express this and they inspire us when we see other people tapping into that amuna and joining that hot spot to be able to navigate the complications of life. It's tremendously inspiring. Dear Goldberg, during the first week of his mom, I got a phone call from a good friend. She was the one who introduced me to living with a mun three years ago. Her family were walking through the ro when they couldn't believe they saw you and your wife. She was so excited. She called me last night to share the she felt that she ran into you and got a nice smoo with the rabbitson. I'd be much more excited about that. The funny part was I just listened to the last year but how people keep bumping into your travels to Budapest through Zurich. So I thought maybe Rev Goldberg is going to switch from plane stories to running into Rev Goldberg stories which I would love to. So keep running on to people. It's so gratifying. Then the author of the email continues. Then last night I was with my family walking through the old city which even though we do life in Israel we usually goes in. We got dinner in the Ro and then while waiting for my husband to finish benching, we saw not Rabbi Goldberg but Rabbi Sheller from one time one time stories which my kids love listening to after the living with Amuna podcast. Of course, my kids were so excited. My boys took a picture with him. As soon as he walked away, my kids said hashkah because we were waiting for Tati and stopped in the restaurant to eat and I thought every encounter with every person is a hashkah story because that person is exactly who Hashem wanted me to meet right now. When the encounter feels so impossible, like meeting Rabbi Goldberg, although we could just fly to Boo or Rabbi Sheller, it's a wow feeling. And everyone should have the same wow. Everyone you run into, everyone you meet, every conversation you have, every encounter we experience, it's all orchestrated. It's all curated. It's all designed from above. And each is a micro moment. Each is a hug and a wink. And each is a wow moment. Dear Rabbi Gor, I hope finds you well. This past Thursday morning, I gave birth to a beautiful, delicious baby girl. We named her on Shabas Orly Amuna. My light is amuna. I've been an avid listener to living with Amuna for years now and throughout the years have been through different stages in life while listening. And this is the reason I'm sharing this email because there are people who need to hear it and who please God will one day be writing the same email. I remember vividly listening in my apartment as a single girl waiting for my I remember the tears, the pain, the dark thoughts of wondering when it will be my turn. How much longer do I have to stay here? Two years later when barashm I got engaged to my husband. I remember listening to the shirum and thinking how I was only able to stay grounded during singlehood because of my amuna. I truly felt and believed only Hashem knew that who my was where he is in life and why he's perfect for me. I would repeat that my dabing in my head over and over and now after a little over a year and a half of marriage I'm listening to the shirum with my beautiful orly amuna in my arms. This name has such tremendous meaning to my husband and I. Orly amuna is a constant reminder gives us that in our life our shining light and guiding hand is our amuna. Amun is the essence of our lives in the air we breathe early amuna truly lives by the essence of her special name. Thank you for the amuna boost. Best regards those emails the track. I remember living and listening and learning and working on amuna in this difficult stage and wondering when my time will come and when will this happen and when will that occur and then to be able to look back to be able to name a baby or amuna my light my amuna those who are in those moments and those stages those who are waiting for those things to happen wait patiently and know there's a plan and know when it happens it will all be worth it because has something in store whatever it's meant to be and if it's what we drew up and it's exactly what we're waiting for or it's a different outcome or a conclusion. It's not it's not something which is coincidental. It's not random and it's not chance. It's all by design and it's all for us. Go back. I very much enjoy listening. There's a lot of I I I don't have all of them. I read all of them and I respond to all of them, but I can't share all of them because we want to get to our Torah learning. So, I just grabbed a few, but it's been a few weeks, so there are many. I very much enjoy listening to Shirum yada yada blah blah blah. Thank you for your kind words. I often think about the line you commonly speak about of embrace your place. You are where you're meant to be. I happened to stop at the gym on my way home from work to take an exercise class. It was a long day and I considered not going because I was tired. But I decided to go and not cancel. About halfway through the class, feeling exhausted and partially regretting my decision, I looked up at a wall that I hadn't looked at before. And there it was in the African-Americanowned gym in New Jersey. A sign that read, "Embrace your place. You're exactly where you're meant to be. Let's get it." I thought for a moment, does the gym owner listen to living with him? Amuna. Needless to say, seeing this on the wall energized me for the second half of the class and in the end, I was glad I did it. Thank you for the inspiring me with the living with Amuna. And here is a picture of the wall in the gym in case you doubt it. Motivational quotes. Embrace your place. You're exactly where you're meant to be. Let's get it from that gym. I want a piece of the revenue. Um, dear Rabbi Goldberg, my aunt is a day listener of your Shirum would like to share the following amazing story. She sat shiver last week after her husband passed away suddenly from a heart attack at age 47. The shock was extreme as he had always been healthy and vibrant and this was so unexpected and of course we send our wishes for strength and comfort and to get through this difficult time. After the shiva a volunteer member of the mask team gently explained that the ripped clothing worn throughout the week needed to be discarded immediately in a non-Jewish garbage can. There are different minhagim surrounding mourning in ais. And I guess this particular min, the miskim in Lakewood has the minog that the garment that you tear when grieving and mourning should be thrown out in non-Jewish garbage can. She and her family changed into fresh garments and gathered at the front door to escort his nishama out. As they opened the door, they were met by an astonishing sight. Right in front of the house was a garbage truck in the middle of its route. The sight was nothing short of miraculous. They know the garbage schedule well. The truck arrived precisely at 6 am daily for five years they'd been living in Lakewood. And yet on that day, there it was, patiently waiting for them at 11:45 a.m. as if it had been summoned specifically for the purpose. Adding to this beautiful moment after a dreary, rain soaked week, the moment they stepped outside, the sun was shining. With the garbage truck right at the doorstep, they were relieved of the burden of searching for a garbage can in the heart of Lakewood, owned by a nonju, which I imagine is hard these days. And the moment felt like a direct kiss, hug and wink from Hashem right in the middle of their sorrow. If you can share the story with your listeners, it would give her much and we wish both of those for her. And again, you can come out and say, "Oh, what a coincidence. There's a garbage truck just when we need it." Or you could say, "Thank you." Even in the sorrow and even this moment that you've taken someone so precious from us, even in this moment, even in the darkness, we can see light. Even in the pain, we can seek your wink and your hug. Dear Goldberg, I'm an avid listener from London. Shir have changed my perspective. How I live life hearing your voice in your head in my head telling me how to embrace my place. I want to tell you what happened to me yesterday. It links to an amuna story you told in your two episodes ago. I was driving back from camp which was in four hours from London and all the passengers in my car were asleep. I decided to play your living with Amuna as I felt it would keep me awake. Many have the opposite experience. But the letter you were reading from was from a man who had been in a car accident. Your message was that when we wake up in the morning, we have no idea what Hashem has in store for us. Car troubles, for example, and we must wake up saying whatever Hashem's plan will be for the best. About an hour later, my car was low on petrol. Let me translate for you. Gas. So, I went to a petrol station which was out of petrol. I waited for 30 minutes while they refueled the machines and in that time my car battery died. The whole thing was such a detour and wasted an hour of my time. I needed to jump start my car. It was only when I was back in the car driving that I remembered you had just spoken about Hashem and his infinite wisdom had decided I needed to wait an hour before continuing on the journey home. If I hadn't listened to the reminder prior which specifically mentioned Hashem's involvement even in car troubles, I might not have recognized Hashem's plan in that moment. It really felt like a high I'm here message from Hashem and I'm grateful for the constant reminders how to live with Amuna. Thank you for everything that you do. Blah blah blah yada yada yada. Thank you for your kind words. So we can have a chapter in the embrace your place book. We have our airplane stories. We have our running into me stories. We have our car stories, car accidents, running out of gas, car battery dying, and near misses. But the common denominator and theme of the whole book and of all that we do is to live life with that perspective to be able to flex those amuna muscles and see through those amuna glasses and how transformed your life is. Our lives are when we say these aren't coincidences and they're not random. And I'm not frustrated that it was an hour of my life I'll never get back because this is what was meant to be. This is where I was supposed to be. This is what was supposed to happen. And who knows if I was on the road earlier in this hour what would have occurred. So be grateful when we do all that we can. We take all of our initiative. Then what happens after that is all from Hashem. Hello. Thank you as always for allowing us to send the moon stories. Take time to read and respond. Even though you don't us purpose personally, I'm sure you get a tons. Thank you. I want to share the following minute story. A very good friend of mine gallbladder got gallbladder surgery the other day was in a lot of pain. I decided to bring over some soup and a present that I knew would cheer her up. The moment I got in my car, it started to rain. As I was driving, it got worse very quickly and then thunderstorms to the point I could barely see. I got it to her safely and as I drove back to my apartment, the streets were flooded. My car felt like a good chunk of it was in water. I made it to my apartment safely. When I started to drive my car, it started making huge gurgling and static noises. I drove it to the mechanic and he said it was a quick and easy fix and he wouldn't charge me for it. But there was an unrelated even bigger problem. My fire exhaust was barely hanging on to my car. It was beyond repair. If it fell off, it could have been a huge safety hazard. Although it's expensive to fix and I wasn't expecting it. I find it a huge braha from Hashem. Because I did a mitzvah of helping a friend who's sick. Hashem orchestrated there'd be a huge thunderstorm so my car would make noises. So I go to the mechanic, have the storm related issue be easily fixable and thereby have this problem in my car totally unrelated be found. Thank you, Hashem. Although I could look at it and say, "Oi, I wasn't expecting to have this issue or pay this much. Instead, I say, wow, Hashem is very much looking out for me." The mechanic also said, "While we're waiting for the parts to come in, do not go on any highways." And it's good to know as I start clinicals again very soon. Thank you for strengthening the Amuna muscle. Let me put on my Amuna glasses. Have a great Shabas. Another one for our chapter on cars. And I'll just read one more and then we'll get into our learning. Yeah, one more and then we'll get into the learning. Dear Rabbi Goldberg, I'm a single woman in my 40s and I recently went through a very painful disappointment in dating. I've been dating someone for a few months and I truly believed he was the right one for me. Things were going well. He had so many of the qualities I was hoping and domining for over the years. I was already feeling so grateful to Hashan that my single days were finally ending. I could start building the beautiful from family I've dreamed of since I was a little girl. And then out of nowhere, he ended it. It wasn't even initially upset. I wasn't even initially upset because I was so certain he'd come back after some time and that working through our challenges would make us even stronger. But a few weeks later, I heard he got engaged. I was devastated and broken. I couldn't stop crying. Even though I knew Hashem loves me, he's doing what's best for me intellectually, emotionally, it felt like a harsh punishment. I kept wondering what had I done wrong, what I could have said or done differently. I replayed our conversations over and over in my mind, feeling I had somehow blown my chance. After a few days, I realized I needed to strengthen my amuna. I searched for amuna in my podcast app and came across your podcast. I clicked on the first episode in the list number 352 which is all about how rejection is really Hashem's protection and it's not the Satan who blocks our path but the Malikim the angel of kindness listening to that she felt like a direct hug from Hashem it gave me the exact I desperately needed since then I've been listening to that episode and many others on repeat what a tremendous you have to be the to deliver such comfort and perspective to people in pain and I couldn't agree with her more today I was listening to another she of yours in which you read an email from a woman who had once written to as a dejected single just having received a note from Ashok and was now writing again to share the news of her engagement. That was last year. Remember sir bego please consider this my first email. I believe and trust on Hashem's master plan and if that man wasn't the right one for me I'll continue to wait patiently while living my best life. I'll be writing to you again very soon. First to share my own engagement news and then to share the news of a baby. Thank you for helping me through this difficult time. I look forward to sharing future ish and simas mitzvah. May everything you do beh for your family and Israel, which a I really appreciate. So I I share these emails because they're not the introduction to the shar. They're not a distraction from Mashia. They're not a copout of my having to give the Shia. They are a Shia. When someone writes an email like that and says, "I pivoted in my reaction, in my emotion, in how my perspective. She is such an inspiration. What a sheer. Her email is a piece of Torah. And it means that whatever is going to happen to us today or tomorrow or this week, whatever we're going through, whatever we're overcoming, whatever challenge we're navigating through, whatever we're patiently waiting for, we have it in us. We have that amuna muscle. Flex it, build it, grow it. We have those glasses. We can have that perspective. We can find him. That light in the darkness, that hug and that wink and that love even within the pain. That knowledge that when one door closes, it wasn't random. It's not the wind that blew the door closed. Hashem closed the door because he's going to open another. He closed the door to make sure we don't step off a cliff. He closed the door to make sure we don't walk right into trouble. He closed the door to make sure we're avoiding some future pain, which is even worse than whatever we're going through because that door feels like it closed in our face. And as he closes a door, he will open another. He will open another. And what feels sometimes like the satan, another no from a another only one line on a pregnancy test, another job interview, another rejection, another what feels like a door that's closing. We have to know and interpret and experience. We should extract and learn. What could I do differently? How can I grow? How can improve? How can I take more initiative? But once we've exhausted and done all we can, that door that closes that feels like the Satan is the Malik of Rahim is the angel of kindness and compassion who's steering and guiding and helping and supporting and hugging and winking and loving us every step of the way. And this is not just the opium of the masses. This is not just a drug of choice to help us get through. This is the MS. This is the truth. This is the reality of the world that we live in. This is him. He's everywhere and he's orchestrating everything. We have to endlessly thank him for the good. Whatever goes right, whatever works out well. Every car ride that doesn't end with a dead battery or out of gas or an accident. Every plane ride that ends in the destination we intended to be. Any encounter, any everything. The end of each day, our davening should be so long because we're looking back and saying all the things that went right. The beginning of every day, we turn to him and say, "We need your help. Close this deal. Let that work out. First day of school, new job, first day lan, first day. Let this work. Let that work. Let the other thing come together. Hashem, please, please, please, please." And what happens all too often and I f find myself also falling prey to this very very easy challenge which is by the next day we're on to the next list of things that we need help with. But do we ever press pause to say thank you? Thank you Hashem that worked out. Today's brahas are Hashem's yes to yesterday's. What you have going well today is Hashem saying yes to what Yavin so hard for yesterday. So do we say thank you at the end? Thank you the speech worked out. Thank you the deal went well. Thank you the meeting was a success. Thank you the trip. I got where I was meant to be safely and on time. Thank you. Thank you. Do we say thank you afterwards? And do we see his hand? We've said so many times so many can bring down. We grow. We live with more amuna when we speak, when we talk, when we're thankful, when we see Hashem, when we see Hashem everywhere. Everywhere. We landed yesterday in Miami airport. The first time in a long time. I don't know why or what I was thinking. Maybe there was just too many details leading up to it. Even we landed Barakli in Har five of us, six suitcases, carry. I hadn't arranged any way back from the airport. And as we're at the luggage, my incredible 12-year-old son says to me, "Ah, but how are we getting back?" And I said, "I don't know. I didn't figure out yet. Hashem's going to send us a plan. Hashem's going to send us our ride. And he said to me, because must be a line that I use. He goes, "What is this, amateur hour? Whenever we travel and I tell my anyone have a liquid in their take it out before security, if anyone does something wrong and it slows us down, I said, "What is this amateur hour?" So, I guess he was listening. So, he said to me, "Aba, you don't have a ride. What is this, amateur hour?" >> Amateur hour. So, anyway, I went on Uber and as it turned out, I didn't even know this. Did you know that Uber has an XXXL option? Not only your regular Uber and not only an extra-large Uber, but there's an extra extra-large Uber so that when you have five people in six suitcases, it can work out. Now, I hesitate to say this part, but I did put it on our family WhatsApp group, Betamuna. I said Hashem would send us someone and he sent us the driver's name was Jesus Sus. Hashem sent us our driver and uh it was an amateur hour. I'm a professional amuna person so it's not amateur hour. If you live as a professional amuna then it's never amateur hour. Okay, maybe I didn't take the initiative I should have. I could take some blame there but Hashem always has a plan about how you're getting home. We're on page of we're still living learning is incredible. I do not have the English art school version. I'm not saying that so someone sends it to me as a gift but I'm happy with the Hebrew original but mean I can't tell you what page it corresponds with. We are on the chapter there's no chapter numbers but it's a chapter that's called to serve Hashem specifically in the place that you find yourself right now. That's the name of the chapter. So I don't know what chapter it is in the arts girl wonderful translation that came out. That's what we're up to. That's page of 121 in our Hebrew edition of the great. Okay. A person what we began with last time just to bring you back because it's been a few weeks. We started last time was theim said the rabbis when they tell us in the in the holy it says one of the great teachings of Hill is if not now when if not me who will be for me but only for myself and what am I if not now when means if not now when don't be lazy don't procrastinate don't push off take it right now you thought about calling someone. Call them right now. Don't delay. Don't do it later. If not now, when when this is began, this is it. The March, the count rash, the new year, the new us, our best year, our best selves. If you're not going to be determined to be that person, that husband, that wife, that mother, that father, that Hashem, that son, that daughter, that take it on whatever you've been waiting for to introduce into your day. It's time to organize your life. Literally, your closet, your kitchen, or your schedule, your finances, your health and wellness. If not today, when? Let's go. You got this. Today's the day. It's if not now, when? That's the classic translation understanding. Don't be lazy. Don't push off. Don't say I'll get to it. Don't say one day. Don't say if this were to happen, then I would. No, no, no. Those are all excuses. Take extreme ownership of your life. And today is the day. Today is the day. Because if it's not today, then when? We just read an email from a 47y old who had a massive heart attack. There is no amasai. When? When are you going to make that coffee date and have that conversation you've been waiting for? When are you going to organize your things, your home? When are you going to organize your schedule, your life? When are you going to take control and organize your finances? If not today, when? Don't wait. We have no idea what today or tomorrow will bring. We don't know what will be. And if not today, when the greatb said means if you don't take advantage of it's gone. this moment, who you're sitting next to in the Amunashir, who you'll encounter on the way out, who you'll have the opportunity to check in on and say hello to, this moment won't return. It won't come back. Every moment is pregnant with possibility. Every moment, every encounter, every conversation, once it's gone, it's never coming back. And if we don't embrace and grasp and live it fully, we've squandered the opportunity and the chance. We have to live with such a mindfulness and a mentality that every moment is our moment. Every moment we're doing what we're meant to be doing. I'll say also there when there's no person who doesn't have his hour and there's nothing that doesn't have its place. It doesn't just mean that you know everyone has their hour, their 15 minutes of fame, everyone has their good luck, everyone's going to have No, that's not what it means. It means every person has their hour, their moment, what you're meant to be doing. And everything, every table, every chair, every computer, every microphone, everything has its purpose and its mission. Why are we here? What are we meant to do? What is life all about? How do we live fully everything that we're doing? Don't be haphazard. And don't sleepwalk through life. And don't squander it. And don't be mindless. And don't just give in to the people and the peer pressure that's happening around us, but look in the mirror of this and say, "Who am I? What am I meant to be doing? What's my mission, my purpose? What's my life all about? And how do I get it together? How can I finally get it together to live the life I'm meant to live?" Because it's never too late to be who you're meant to be. This is your year. This is your week. This is your day. This is your hour. This is your moment. We all have our moment. What that moment is waiting for from us that no one else can do that no one else can do. And once we know this, that means we can understand we are here to repair and to fix and to fully live that moment that is designated specifically for us. That moment is waiting for us to fix it. Make that braha out loud in this moment. Pick up that garbage on the sh campus that everyone else walked by. Put the chair back in its place so the room looks organized and there's order. That moment is waiting for us for that moment. It's waiting. It's waiting for us to fix something. It's waiting for us to make that phone call, send that email, respond to that text, organize that thing, learn that idea, say that tom If Hashem sent you in that place at that time for that moment, that's a sign that he wants you there is a sign that there's something you're meant to do there. So if the gas station is out of gas and your car battery dies and you have to sit there for an hour, ask yourself, open your eyes and look around and say, "What am I meant to fix? Why am I here right now?" Not, "I can't believe it. Why this happened to me and wo was me and this always happens and God hates me and I can't believe it. Huh? In every moment and every time, what is this moment demand? What is it inviting from me? Why am I here? How can I fix it and elevate it? How can I be transformed by it? Why am I sitting next to this person on the plane? Why am I checking out on this line with this checkout person? Why am what does this moment demand and ask of me? Why am I in a car with screaming kids? It's only the first day of carpal in school. How am I going to survive an entire year? What does this moment demand from me? What does Hashem, what do these kids need to see me react? What's the right message I'm supposed to say right now to get this carpool going right in the right direction to get this year of carpool off to the right start? Therefore, our great Tana says in don't ever say when I get free, when I have free time, when my schedule allows it, then I'm going to get to it. I I hear people I heard about the amunachir. When my schedule frees up, I plan to go to it one day. One day. I'm not talking about the person who's doing three shifts in the ER who tells that to me. I'm talking about the retiree who says one day when my schedule when I can wake up when I can organize my life and the maj and the things are I'll get to it. Don't ever say when I have time I'll learn why if there's one thing this world and this life has taught us is how uncertain and unpredictable it is. How many people said one day I'll get to it and they never got that day or that chance. How many conversations that haven't happened that couldn't happen that it's too late to have happen? How many relationships that could or should be repaired or fixed but that remain forever broken? How much learning that could have happened? How many how many places because we have visited when we can don't say when I have time but take extreme ownership of your life identify your priorities your goals your ambitions what is this year tough pay v what is next year what is this year next year is in three weeks the way you react to pes is what that just did to me but next year next year is in three weeks next year is not Next year. Next year is in three weeks. So what is this year? What are we waiting for? Don't say when my mind is free right now. I have so many things I worry about, so many things I'm anxious about, so many problems, so many things. You know what? When I have some serenity, when I have some, when I have some peace of mind and some calm, when I have an empty nest and my kids go off to school, when they return, you know, all year long, we can't wait for the summer. No carpool, no homework, no bedtime. We can't wait for the summer. Then all summer I can't wait for school to start the school starts. We're in this vicious cycle of always waiting for when that happens, then I can. Guess what? That cycle is never ending. There's always something. God forbid when you're finally not driving the carpool and taking care of your kids, your schedule's filled with your doctor's appointments. There's always something. There's always something that will fill your schedule and make it feel like it's not your own. So if a person says when I am free, so the classic understanding means free in my schedule, free in time. What a mush of introduced was means free in my thoughts. when I'm no longer worrying about my finances and my health and all my kids being married and what will be with this and what will be with that and when I have some and I have some peace of mind and some serenity then rabbi then I'll come to the amunir then you can count on me to host people then I'm going to give to the capital campaign then I'm going to be on a committee then I'm gonna there'll always be something there'll always be something don't wait because our mind in our head will always you'll never be in a place in a point where you're not worried about something. I'm reading a book, one of the books I was reading this summer called 4,000 weeks. It's an amazing extraordinary book. It's ostensibly about time management, but the whole book is essentially about stop thinking you can manage time. Think about time altogether differently. It's amazing book and I'm going to bring to the amunos here a couple pages where he talks about how we lose all of our time because all of our time is consumed with trying to is trying to manipulate and maneuver and own and predict our future and how much of the present we forfeit because we're doing that. And I just wanted to jump into the pages of the book and grab the author by his collar to say his answer is not what he describes. The answer is Amuna. The answer is amuna. The answer and the result of how to live a meaningful life and a serene life and a productive and a purposeful life is not his conclusion but is our conclusion about but he's basically describing so articulately the same like but he's describing your mind is never going to be free. So today you're worried about carpool and which class and did it get placed where they supposed to and will have the teacher that we wanted and they always tell me they will but they don't and they would say they didn't break it up this way but they definitely did break it up that way and will they switch it and will it work out and how is it going to be and will they adjust and is it gonna right now that's your worry and what in the next chapter of your life the worry is going to be that same kid small kids small problems big kids big problems now you're going to be worried about will they get married and will they be fertile and have children then you're going to be worried about you do I have enough to retire and can I live off of this and how is my health and are my knees and my hips still working on my joints. Can I You're never gonna I don't know anyone who could point to that period of life where they could say, "I've arrived. I'm done. I'm finished worrying. Check. Check. Check. So, what did you need from me?" Because I'm good now. I finished. I have nothing on my mind. I'm free. I've accomplished. I've achieved. I have nothing I need to take care of. Nothing I need to think about. Nothing I'm anxious or worried about. So, Rabbi, what do you need? What do you have for me? I have yet to meet that person. You know why? Because they don't exist. They have never existed and they never will exist. We were created so that in any moment we'll have something to be thinking about. What am I meant to do in that moment? Stop trying to get to that place. You know, there's a movement in the email world called inbox zero. Anyone know of the inbox zero movement whose whole life is determined to get to inbox zero? I've played the inbox zero game. I love the inbox zero game. When I win the inbox zero game, I take a screenshot of my Outlook inbox that says something like, "Wonderful, you're done for the day." You know why I take a screenshot of it? Then I send it to everyone I'm trying to impress, my family, my colleagues. You know why I take the screenshot? Do you know how long it lasts? >> The inbox zero logo. I wish I ever got to five seconds because the emails just keep coming in. There is no inbox zero. You'll never be able to say inbox zero. Done for the I have no email. I have no WhatsApp. I have no phone calls to return. So what do you have for me? Because I'm finished. I'm done. You never get So you never get to inbox zero and you never get to inbox zero in your head. There's always an inbox in your head. What's coming up next? What do I have to work on? What's going on? What am I thinking about? What am I focused on? You'll never get there. So, if you spend your life chasing and pursuing a goal which is unattainable, that's a prescription for madness. Madness. But if you surrender and you forfeit and you realize that was never and never should be a goal. The goal is how to manage the inbox. Set up filters. Don't let the inbox become your to-do list. How do you manage it and live in that space that there'll always be something in your inbox? There'll literally be something in your inbox in your email and there'll always be something in the inbox in your head. That's your purpose. That's your goal. That's your mission. That's why you're here. Now, lean into what's in your inbox. I'm not suggesting doing this in email, but in life, what of was saying whatever enters your mental inbox is what you're meant to be working on in that moment. Your child that you're worried about, the person you want to check in on call, the thing that you have to be doing, that thing that you're worried about, Hashem is sending you a sign and a signal. Here's your assignment. This is your next mission. This is your purpose. This is your moment. Now go live it. Now go fulfill it. Oh, when I get to inbox zero literally and figuratively, then I'll learn and I'll say I'll do then I'll be a best version of myself. Then I'll be the spouse, the parent, the child. Then we are meant to from this place and in this position and as that person this is what we're meant to be doing radically changed your life. Again the parallel stops here. The metaphor is not perfect because Hashem maybe he does or doesn't but every email you get you're not meant to respond to. Every email you get, you're not meant to stop what you're doing to deal with. Your inbox must not become your to-do list and your priority list. Don't let other people own your schedule. It's not true about email. But imagine if you could live with the clarity and confidence that every email that came in, everything in your inbox was directly from Hashem. He is telling you, here are your marching orders. Here's the formula. Here's the playbook. Here's what to do next. Wow, what a life. What a way to be. You're not bitter. You're not resentful. You're not filled with doubt. What should I do? You feel, okay, I feel good right now. This is what I got to work on. This is what I got to do next. This is what came in. That's what Hashem is telling us. When you live with amuna, you could look at your life and say, I'm not frustrated. I had this plan and now this thing came. The thing that came was from Hashem because it's what I meant to be doing. It's what I meant to be doing. Now, this contradicts something I said a few weeks ago. I think they made a real out of out of this uh little snippet from Ashir. I quoted someone who used to say to me, "Your poor planning is not my emergency and how I tried to incorporate that into my home unsuccessfully." Right? So, your poor planning that you didn't bother studying or writing the paper until 1 in the morning and now I have to stay up to help you with it. Your poor planning is not my emergency. But this is the opposite perspective which is maybe your prayer planning Hashem sent for me to take on as my emergency. Okay, now we're going to have a conversation because it can't happen again. But maybe this time, maybe this time whatever comes my way, it's what I meant to be doing. It's my moment. It's my task. It's my mission. It's my purpose. So that's the name of this chapter is telling us it's not I really want to serve Hashem. Why did you send this flat tire or the kid with no homework or why did you give me this flu or why did you make this job this task at work take much longer was supposed I I wanted to get to the shir I wanted to say to him I wanted to serve you. No no no we're serving Hashem through whatever moment he sent our way. Don't view whatever we're doing as taking us away from the life that we want to live. Whatever he sends us to be doing is the life we're meant to live. He's giving us our mission. He's sending us on our he's sending us our way. It's an allgether different way to live life is to look at our life and say whatever in each moment to a mindfulness and a sense of purpose of what am I meant to do? What am I meant to accomplish? Why am I here? Why this encounter? Why this person? Why this place? Why did I overhear that thing? Why did this come into my lap? What am I meant to be doing now? [Music] Serving Hashem specifically from the place where I am where I am right now. We'll do two more lines and then we'll turn this off and do our questions. Question and answer. the holy ruptured explained. We just read this a couple weeks ago in Mosha turns to God. Moshe turns to God and heavens. The gamach of is 5:15. 515 times in a row he said to God, "Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please let me go into the land. I've been a faithful servant. I've taken care of these people. My whole life goal, my whole mission is to enter that land. Please, please reconsider. Please, please, please, please. 515 times. Shalom. It says he at that time saying said the holy toe was that I live this moment. Let me live this moment. Even if I'm distracted, even if we're going through a hard time, even if I'm not where I wanted to be or I meant to be, I wanted to be in a and it turns out I have to on the side of the road. I didn't make that minion. I got delayed. that wherever I am in that moment wherever I am in that moment earlier number of years ago I was invited to a series of meetings I'm saying this not to flex but to make a point at the white house one of which was with previous a previous president and I happened to be in New York I went to new square to reba going for years to square and um that's a whole history into itself and um I went to square reba and one of the things I asked him for was if I have the chance to speak in that meeting in that small meeting what should I say and told me to that in that moment lay more he'll give you the words to say you could turn and toe that in that moment lay more you're going into a difficult conversation you're going into a difficult meeting you're going into some this is what it means to live a life of amuna. It means that before you go into the boardroom, before you go into that meeting, before you go into that Starbucks, before you're having that hard conversation, you stop and you pause and you pray on it in that moment. Give me the right words to say. Let the right words come out of my lips. Let this be productive and effective. Let it meet its goals. Every one of us have what we're meant to do in that moment. And we should den that we fulfill our mission for every moment to elevate every moment to fulfill our purpose and our mission. It's hard to live that level of mindfulness to be so present in every moment that we're thinking what am I meant to be doing here and now? What should I say? How do I respond? What am I meant? What's my mission? How am I uniquely positioned unlike anyone else? That is a level of mindfulness that's exhausting. Must be so hard. I can't say I'm there. I can't tell you what it's like, but I can picture how exhausting it must be. It must be. And yet, what a life, how exhilarating, how fulfilling. We should all be successful in getting to that place and in living that life. It's great to be back together. We're going to turn off the recording now and hope you've given some thought for a question and answer on any topic. May we hear besos Yeshua's then