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Showing posts with the label Obstacles

Attitude

One of the great moments in sports history came on Sunday afternoon when the New Orleans Saints and the Detroit Lions were playing.  The Lions were leading 17-16, with the time running out.  The Saints had the ball in mid-field.  They called time out with two seconds left on the clock.  The coach then sent Tom Dempsey, an uncertain place-kicker born with a deformed right arm and hand and with half a right foot, to try a field goal. It was a 63-yard attempt. The longest field goal ever kicked in the N.F.L. to date had been 57 yards.  But the athlete with the deformed foot kicked the ball through the uprights and the Saints won. When asked after the game how he did it, Dempsey attributed his success to high school and college coaches and the pros who “spent so much time encouraging me that they simply forgot to tell me that I couldn’t do.” Believe in yourself.  Believe that you can.

Challenge

Life is challenging.  Every day contains obstacles that we must learn to maneuver around or solve.  And as Rebbe Nachman taught us, "Do not be afraid." "You must carry a chaos inside you to give birth to a dancing star." -Nietzsche

Overcoming Obstacles

Reb Nosson wrote: “It is inevitable that everyone will come up against many problems which are impossible to foresee. We have to accept them all with love and know that everything that happens to us is all for our good. If we do this, it is much easier to pray to God that He remove our illness and suffering. Even though we know that in truth it is all good, we possess neither the strength nor the wisdom to receive such good. For this reason we ask, ‘May the Almighty give you compassion.’ May He hand compassion over to you—that is, what you can understand to be compassion.” - Healing Leaves

The Etrog

Every fruit has its season and climate when it blooms and grows.   Some fruits only flourish in golden sunshine and cannot tolerate the cold.   Others wither and shrivel in hot weather.   However, the etrog is the only fruit which grows in winter and summer.   It is able to survive heat, cold, snow, and rain.   As are the fruits so are nations.   Each nation has its place and environment in which it thrives.   The Jews, however, are strewn throughout the world and live sometimes under harsh conditions.   Like the etrog, which is the symbol of the Jew, they overcome all obstacles and manage to survive.   Like the etrog, the Jews will never become extinct. -Unknown