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Why Wasn't I Who I Could Have Been?

GYE Corp. Monday, 06 February 2012

I saw the following idea in a Sefer once, and it helps me to keep strong so I thought I might post it...

The Jewish concept of Gehinnom is that after the soul leaves the body and ascends to the spiritual worlds, it encounters a fearsome being: The person it COULD HAVE been.

This person looks a lot like him, but is kinder, more generous, less lazy, and more truthful.

Burning regrets over unrealized potential are the real fires of Gehinnom!

The good news is, that as long as I'm still breathing it's not too late to become the person I could have been ("as long as the candle is still lit, one can still fix").

This is the method of Teshuvah endorsed by the Rambam. He says to visualize your ideal self, and then formulate specific steps for how to get from here to there.

I know that we're now in recovery and we should concentrate less on Teshuvah and more on how to get our life under control, and how to fill our lives with positive things. But I have a picture in mind: A goal.

When I fall, I tell myself: Yes, I fell... but instead of concentrating on that fall, I think about that picture; what I actually want to be.

After 120, Hashem won't ask me why I wasn't Avraham Avinu or Sarah Imeiynu, but He will ask me why I wasn't "theOne".

"TheOne" has the ability to get rid of the lust, to keep strong - and to fill life with happiness. And if I don't do everything I can to become "thatOne", only then will I have failed.

By reading the GYE handbooks, the threads on this forum, joining Duvid Chaim's calls and taking the necessary steps... I am doing my job.

With Hashem's help I will win the war!!!