Did you know that you could be doing good in the world–even be performing Godly work–and still not be fulfilling your purpose? You might actually be wasting your time by fulfilling the wrong mission.
Let me explain, According to Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai, we are each given a mission to fulfill during our lifetime. Not only that, we are given only a certain number of days in which to fulfill that mission–no more, no less.ย Every moment that we don’t use to fulfill this mission, or purpose, is a waste of our time. And it’s an abuse of the mission we were given.
And that remains the case even if we spend our time doing good. So, we might spend our time as a nurse, for example. But if we are supposed to be an inspirational speaker or a teacher, we are wasting our time and not fulfilling our mission or purpose–at least according to the Rabbi’s teaching.
While this might seem extreme, the teaching give me pause. It made me consider how I spend my time and what it really means to “waste” time. What am I supposed to be doing here–and how am I really wasting my time?
I could consider all the little things I do that waste my time–the things I normally think of as time wasters. You know what I mean: television, the Internet, social networking, talking on the phone, etc. But that’s not what we are taking about here. We are talking about big things…things like good deeds that might actually not be the best use of our time. That’s a different concept, right?
Do you think you could be doing something that seems “good” on the surface–something God would want you to do, something that helps others–but that could actually be opposed to your actual mission, something that takes time away from fulfilling your purpose? Let me know; leave me a comment.
Photo courtesy of Suat Eman
What an interesting thought! It certainly pushes us to think deeply about the issues we have committed ourselves to and the investment -in every sense of the word-that we have made in these issues. But, how do you tell really, if you are indeed fulfilling your purpose? What would you say is one good sign that you are fulfilling your mission? Is it external responses, the ability to measure the effectiveness of your work, or is it something else like a gut reaction, the bubbling up, unsteady but utterly exciting, charged up feeling you get inside that you couldn’t possibly explain fully to anyone? My questions are sincere. I just don’t the answer.
I’ve been trying to integrate this practice into my own life over the past couple of years after hearing it from several rabbis and teachers. I spent a while thinking about my skills, talents and personality, and then using them strategically for “G-dly work.” It’s not that I skip out on helping people, following G-d’s commandments, or anything like that. Instead, I have been doing it in the way that naturally flows out of me, even if it differs from what other people are doing.
For example, I love writing. So, if I know a friend is feeling down, or someone is lonely, I write them a letter, an email, or even (purposely laughable) really bad poetry. I don’t have a large home to host people in, but I’ll make the emails and phone calls to invite the people, since I love communicating.
When I use my skills, talents, and personality to accomplish something big–big in a spiritual sense, not a monetary one–I feel like I’m doing what I was put on this earth to do, not just “being good.”
I love your comment and your practice. It’s lovely. Thanks so much for sharing!