12/4/17 "Feeling Good"

 Being afraid of feeling bad is one of the biggest motivation for feeling bad. We as humans care very much for ourselves, that being said if we truly want to feel good all the time than we must be on the down side at times. It’s the mainframe of who we are, “our up is only as good as our down”. Those full of excitement and joy, have the alternative very available to them. We can’t cheat ourselves, it’s who we are. As Jews we know that our year calendar has many happy day Succos, Chanukah etc. there are also Yom Kippur, Tisha Ba’av etc. It’s very unfortunate to avoid those sad days, for then the happy days will have less attachment and feeling.

There are those who think that not to feel, would be the best way to feel “alright” and somehow accept a lifestyle coinciding with that. To explain such erroneous thinking, take a child, what is his wants? Candy? Ice cream? These are generally things that children have on their priority level. There is nothing wrong with that, it is just all they know. If someone were to tell them the joy of having a sports car; the speed and luxury of it, they wouldn’t understand. On the other hand, an adult who only enjoy sweets and soda would be very off. He has seen the greater world, developed his senses and is in tune with future benefits, candy will not take priority in his life. Do you want to just accept candy all your life, or do you want to up the ante and develop you feelings in all areas, not just the Good?