To
My Dear Students,
I
read of two roads in Westport, Connecticut.
One bears a sign reading "Tranquility Lane."
Right next to this road is another street, no
doubt named as a counterpoint to Tranquility Lane,
named "Aggravation Lane." There
they sit, side by side: Aggravation and
Tranquility.
It
is a short emotional distance between these two
emotional states. How quickly we are transported
from one to the other, one moment care-free and
the next ill-tempered.
Our
tranquility often erupts into aggravation due
to small irritations.
Before
overreacting to a vexation, what if we ask:
"Will this annoyance be significant a year
from now, in a month, in an hour?
We
can learn from Abraham Lincoln. When he
was angered at a subordinate, he would dash off
a fiery letter. Then, he would set it aside
until his anger abated. Invariably, he was
relieved that he did not send the letter.
Why
do we elevate the momentary into the momentous?
Why do we promote the unimportant to the level
of the critical? Why does every forgettable
experience merit a "code red" response?
Aren't most things "much ado about nothing?"
In
the grand scheme of things, that which aggravates,
exasperates, annoys, and frustrates us does not
really count for much. Gloria Vanderbilt
wrote an autobiography titled, "It Seemed
So Important at the Time." But it rarely
is. Be assured: the sun will still rise
tomorrow.
Shabbat
Shalom,
Your
Rabbi
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