Karen Berg
NOVEMBER 19, 2023
This article on the portion of the week was previously published in 2017.
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”—Joseph Campbell
It takes the average baby 1000 hours of practice before they can walk. Some learn to scoot first. Some love to crawl. Others like to get right to taking their first steps. But what is the same across the board is the practice and the many, many times of falling down just to get up and try again. I mention this because this week's energy supports us in going out of our comfort zone and choosing to find that next level. And whenever we do that, we are bound to be met with challenges. Just like the baby struggles before he walks, so too do we go through tests to bring us into who we are meant to become.
“This week's energy supports us in going out of our comfort zone…”
This week's portion, Vayetze, means, "and he left." There is so much that unfolds in this story that it could probably be a great script for 2 or 3 fantastic full-length films. We see Jacob leaving his father's home in Beersheba to find a wife, the famous dream of the ladder to heaven, the meeting of he and his soulmate Rachel at the well, his working for Laban, his marriage(s), the birth of the leaders of the 12 tribes.... And a whole lot more in between. But what I wanted to say here is that the whole thing starts with: “And he left.”
In other words, for everything to occur, for this powerful unfolding of spiritual energy to happen, there had to be this initial decision on Jacob's part to let go of what he knew. It all started with him going out of the comfort of his father's home, and with his certainty and connection to God as his lifeline, Jacob ventured into the unknown.
For each of us there are many blessings waiting in the wings, but there is a pre-requisite: That we make the decision to move forward. This doesn't always mean a physical move, although it can be. More often it is the decision to leave behind behaviors that are no longer serving us, belief systems that are limiting us, or to find a way to uproot the baggage we've been slugging along with us, sometimes for many years. This week's portion supports us in finding that point of growth within ourselves through which we can evolve into a new way of being.
Anyone knows that you don't just "poof" and become the person you want to be in a second! That happens in cartoon movies maybe, but human experience reveals that people who have really come into themselves and make big differences for the betterment of all have gone through the tests of fire. Getting to a place where we embody a new way of being is not easy. We each have our own spiritual ladder to climb that is unique to what our soul came here to do. But like the baby, we can prevail with a willingness to go through the process, knowing that the grasping for each next rung, allows us to reveal more of who we are.
“We each have our own spiritual ladder to climb…”
Kids are amazing. Everything fascinates them, they soak up new experiences, and bask in the delight of learning more and more. That is an outlook we can take on as we sojourn forth. See how you can embrace the process of going outside of your comfort zone. Are there places of indecision and doubt? Yes. None of us are perfect. Will there be crossroads and challenges and places of confusion? Yes. But with the Light of the Creator, you are capable of overcoming, and this week you get a shot of energy to help you on your way.
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