Today I had a lunch date with a client and he took me to the new kosher restaurant a few blocks from my office. The food was great, but the atmosphere was charged with distractions. Some of the waitresses were not dressed modestly.
Dave and I had recently learned that overcoming my Shmirat Einayim challenge benefits not only me, but my children as well. The idea blows me away! It's a very deep concept, and I don't claim to understand it. But what I took away from our discussion was that I'm not in this just for myself. Every time I control my eyes, I'm empowering my kids (maybe even my grandkids!) to do better in this area. It's a concrete way that I can give them a spiritual advantage.
Now that's a powerful motivator. So when I encountered the waitress, I buried my eyes in the menu. "Do this for Julie," I told myself.
"Can I take your order?" she asked. I asked my client to order first, then, without looking up, I gave my order. As she was walking away, I looked down to drink a glass of water. Then I asked my client if he would mind if I changed my seat, and I placed myself in the chair facing the wall instead of the interior of the restaurant.
Somehow, the fact that my children will get some sort of spiritual boost out of my restraint made it a whole lot easier. But in the future, I'm taking my clients to my good ol' restaurant down the block where my regular waiter - Brad - will be happy to serve us.
These e-mails are excerpts taken from the book "Windows of the Soul" by Rabbi Zvi Miller of the Salant Foundation.