THOUGHT OF THE WEEK – January 7, 2022
Forget the story of freedom and you will eventually lose freedom itself.
The Jewish people have been storytellers from the earliest of times. In fact, Moses instructed the Jewish people during their exodus from Egypt to make sure they told the story to their children and their children’s children, forever and ever.
Why though? And what’s so important about the story?
As an American who appreciates all the freedom we have here, we too have a story. Our story is of our founding as a nation, running away from the tyranny of Europe, and allowing for a society based on equality, opportunity, and freedom.
The short answer re: Moses and timing is that when the Jewish nation was formed, people had the freedom to choose a path.
Freedom is huge. Yet, when it isn’t based on a moral foundation and a tradition that evolves yet doesn’t change, what does it mean? Once we forget where we came from and why we sought our freedom in the first place, we lose our identity.
Personally, I have found that when I forget what is truly important to me, my basic moral principles, and the guiding light of my own freedom, I’m susceptible to all kinds of shiny, false objects of happiness. I begin to grasp at whatever feels good, and I lose focus on the long term. Essentially, as my first sentence states, I risk losing that freedom that helped me make the proper choices to begin with.
As a Jew and an American, my guiding principle has been and always will be non-judgement, kindness, and treating others better than I want them to treat me.
This week, let’s remind ourselves of what we want from others, and then treat them in the manner in which we hope they will treat us.
Accountability, Community, Unconditional Love
Asher
I want to remind all of you that you can hear more on my podcast, Showing Up. We have lots of amazing shows with interesting guests on a variety of personal development topics. It would be great if you could also rate 5 stars, review and subscribe to the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/showing-up-with-asher-gottesman/id1489856285y