Dave promised to watch his kids today while his wife went shopping, so I went over to his place to help him. His year-old baby, Linda, is learning to walk. I watched her for a while. She's still unsteady on her feet, but it was amazing to see how hard she tries. She takes a couple of steps, and then flops right down. It doesn't bother her a bit. She just gets right up and starts over, again and again.
Of course, we were patient with her. It wasn't her fault she kept tripping. Every time she stood up, we cheered and clapped. When she took few steps, we went wild!
You could tell she loved the applause; the kid already knows how to play to a crowd.
I think that since I've been working on Shmirat Einayim I've become more sensitive to success and failure. Believe me, I know how vulnerable I am. Despite all the progress I've made, I still seem to fall into the trap, over and over. Sometimes, I beat up on myself over it - control seems to be a goal that's forever receding ahead of me.
So I decided to take a tip from little Linda. She never loses confidence in herself when she falls. She doesn't get depressed or anxious either. Looking at her, I can picture her in my mind's eye just a year from now. Someday she'll walk, she'll run, she'll skip. She'll be in total control.
If she doesn't lose heart, neither should I. I can't let my failures get me down. It's the steady effort that counts. Sooner or later, I know it will pay off.
These e-mails are excerpts taken from the book "Windows of the Soul" by Rabbi Zvi Miller of the Salant Foundation.