SELF AWARENESS

     “Sow a thought, says an old proverb, and reap an act.  Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny.”

Our destiny depends upon the content and direction of our thinking and upon self examination and self knowledge. 

      Permit me to share a story with you about James Garfield, President of the United State.  Before Mr. Garfield became president he was the Dean at an Eastern College. A man brought his son, who had registered at the college, for an interview. He said to Mr. Garfield, “My son doesn't have the time to take all the required courses. He wants to finish college quickly.  Can you make the proper arrangements for him?”  “Oh yes,” said Mr. Garfield, “He can take a short course, but it all depends on what you want to make of him. When G-D wants to make an oak tree, He takes a hundred years, but He only takes two months to make a squash. Yes, it takes time and patience for an acorn to grow into an Oak and for a boy to develop into a young man.” 

     We need great patience and understanding to develop the ‘true self.’ The self needs to be nurtured and appreciated.

     Carl Rogers, one of the most important modern day psychologists, developed a "Non directive or client centered theory.”  These essential elements in his theory are the "Self concept". The idea is based upon how a person perceives himself   and how he perceives the world around him. A person is motivated into some type of action depending upon how he sees himself- what is his own self concept. 

      Thus the self will try, whatever way possible, to bring about actualization and growth of one’s self.  However, the direction taken will depend, largely, on how one perceives himself. If one has a distorted self image he will not react in a positive way to guarantee a glorious future. 

     It is with these thoughts in mind that we visit this week's Parsha, Sh’lach. Herein, we read of the incident of the Meraglim. 

    Moshe and עם ישראל, were prepared to enter the Promised Land when the people requested that a group of leaders be sent to spy out the land before they travel any further. 

    After these leaders returned with a negative and pessimistic report, they stated 

                                                                          ונהי בעינינו כחגבים וכן היינו בעיניהם  

"We were in our own sight as grasshoppers and so were we in their sight"

     It is truly devastating to perceive that others see us as insignificant, as mere grasshoppers.  But even more destructive is to have a poor image of ourselves and to see ourselves as lowly grasshoppers. 

      Think of this as a crucial aspect of our existence. It is bad enough to be seen by others as insignificant. However, to have a destructive view of ourselves, to have such a poor image of whom we are, and to see ourselves as mere grasshoppers, is a denial of faith in oneself and can lead to a total destruction of oneself. The sin of the Meraglim, was a sin of self-destruction, a sin of non self actualization. 

     We are to see the blessings and the opportunities that G-D has given to us rather than belittle ourselves and to continue to live our lives as Chagavim.

     What faces Modern Orthodox Jewry today is a need for an improvement of our self image, of a spiritual uplifting, that permits us to see ourselves not as Chagavim, but rather to emulate the words of גור אריה יהודה, to have a more positive self image, of a lion, that roars aloud in a glorious and positive way. 

 

EVERY MOMENT IN LIFE IS A NOTE IN THE DIVINE SYMPHONY OF THE PROJECTION OF SELF AWARENESS