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KEEP SMILING
Inspirational pieces by the author of inspiration books
Avrohom Tzvi Schwartz
MOVING ON
You need help. You have a problem, and you need to know what
to do — you need to know the next step. You need advice
that is good, advice you can follow with confidence —
that you may do what you need to do, and then move one. Think
then, for a moment. Who is the best person available to help
you? You need specific advice, preferably from one reliable
source. Look carefully, exclusively, for the best. Now,
approach this person, or make an appointment to reach him or
her. Frame your question thoughtfully, accurately. Ask it
respectfully. You do not want to impress the person who is
helping you — you want only to hear Their advice.
Listen carefully. Make sure you hear it properly. Think it
over. Be certain that you understand. Say a prayer that you
should succeed. Now do it... Then — once you do what
you need to do — pray what you need to pray — you
may rest, relax. There is no more to do, so you may leave it
alone. You may move on to your next project.
HUNGER
To have nothing. To have everything. What's the difference
between complaining and being hungry? Both of them result
from a lack. Still, complaining is negative, bad —
while hunger is positive, good. Imagine, having no appetite
— you would never enjoy a single meal. Imagine never
hungering for an article of clothing or a new electronic
gadget — you would never buy anything new. Even if you
received it as a gift, you would have no pleasure from it.
Imagine, having no hunger for life — you may as well be
dead. Therefore, the fact that we are lacking, that we are
hungry is good, excellent, a superb asset. How stupid are we
then to complain, to moan, to rage, about all we are missing
in life. We must know that hunger and only hunger adds flavor
and spice, and allows us to enjoy the pleasures of life.
AMBITION
How hungry should we be? According to our equation, the
hungrier we are, the more pleasure we have when we fill that
hunger. There is however, another reason to be hungry. For,
then we strive in a full, rich way to reach our goals. This
hunger we call ambition — and the greater it is, the
greater are our chances of success, of victory. Like a bow,
the more you pull back its cord, the further it shoots the
arrow. In prayer, this is also true. The more urgent our
prayer — the more intense, the more pressing —
the sooner it is answered - - "and they cried to Hashem in
their pain, from their distress He saved them." Curiously
then, to have pleasure, we must first suffer. We cannot be
happy, unless we have deficiencies and unfulfilled
desires.
NOT FOR CHOCOLATES
Don't hunger for chocolates only. After four or five of them,
their good taste disappears. Similarly, don't hunger for
houses and holidays only. Hunger instead for great, lofty
goals, Heavenly dreams — pleasures that are endless. We
need to know which appetites to encourage and which to avoid.
To pursue the wrong goals is expensive. They rob us of time
and energy, of our money and our thoughts — and in the
end, they lead us to nowhere. Imagine traveling to a
destination for 35 years, and then discovering that it's the
wrong one. What a heartache! What a waste. We need hunger in
our lives, even great hunger. But at the same time, we must
hunger for the right things. And if we think about it —
just a little more - - we will know that the "right things"
are of a spiritual nature, and not of the material, physical
sort.
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