markz wrote on 21 Apr 2016 04:08:

I'm not really sure.  I've gotten to 23 before but it seems easier this time.  It might be just the fact that I'm posting regularly.  Even though it usually has nothing to do with my addiction, it keeps my energy focused on something.

BEHS wrote on 21 Apr 2016 04:02:

In that case, "Hi".


Good "chap". Do you work for an advertising company, by any chance?

abie wrote on 21 Apr 2016 04:26:

No, I'm just a typical, boring, Jewish accountant.

BEHS wrote on 21 Apr 2016 04:20:

Coulda, shoulda, woulda. Take a page out of Nike's book.


Into what?


 

"I must be out of my mind."

If I've gone out of my mind, maybe the cure is to have HKBH somehow put me back into it.

24/24

The way to motivate the masses, says the Ramcha"l, is through the concept of reward and punishment.  The lowest common denominator is the fear we all have of being judged.  He then goes on to explain that even the righteous aren't immune from being punished.  This should scare even someone who has no interest in self-improvement into some form of vigilance.

27/27

The last few days, the Ramcha"l has been bringing examples of how HaShem rewards and punishes.  He has discussed the concept that tzaddikim are judged more strictly, and in today's piece, he mentions that HaShem takes every little detail into account.  If you feel that He will overlook some of the little things that you do which are improper, what's to stop Him from overlooking the little things that you do which are good?

28/28. Four weeks in a row. Baruch Hashem.

If we are judged strictly on the smallest things and nothing is overlooked, the Ramcha"l wonders how we deal with the concept of middas harachamim? He answers that if the world was only run with middas hadin, we would be punished immediately for our actions, the punishment would be done with anger, and there would be no hope for teshuvah. 

29/29

The Ramcha"l continues that it is the midas harachamim that delays punishment, lessens the punishment, and allows teshuva to take effect.  If one truly does teshuva and regrets his actions, it's as if he never did them.

30/30. Still batting 1.000 and that's a month streak too!!!

To summarize the perek dealing with acquiring vigilance, there is always a reason for us to be vigilant about our actions. For some of us (not me, yet), it's because we understand the importance of shlaimus. For others, it's to ensure our place in olam ha'bah. For the rest, it's simply a question of schar ve'onesh. 

Warning: if you don't post for a week, your thread may fall off of the chart.
I'm missing my daily dose.
How were the second days?

Abie, kudos for reaching out.  Truth is I've had a rough few days and I fell today.  While that's a little upsetting in that I was at a 34-day streak, which is my record, at the same time it finally gives me a chance to see if this new approach works for me.  While I was always utilizing the fraction and percentage, I was essentially tracking my streak which was not what this thread was supposed to be about.

34/35 = 0.971

As for the Mesillas Yesharim, we have a few days to catch up on, partially because I couldn't post on yom tov, and partially because I haven't posted since (possibly a reason for my fall).  We're essentially going to be covering the entire 5th perek between today and tomorrow.  I'll do half today and half tomorrow, be'ezras HaShem.

There are 3 things that can cause us to lose our vigilance: our involvement with the physical world, joking around, and bad friends.  In terms of being overly involved in the physical world, the more you focus on your job and the pressures of making a living, the less time you have to focus on your actions, and the less time you have to devote to Torah.  It's not that we shouldn't work, but it shouldn't consume our lives to the extent that we lose focus on what really matters in olam hazeh.  Especially when we consider the fact that Torah leads to vigilance, focusing too much on our jobs and too little on being koveah itim will certainly cause us to lose our vigilance.  And not only does Torah bring us to vigilance, it is the cure for the yetzer hara.  So we see that without Torah, we won't be vigilant in our actions which will lead us to wander through life "like a blind man on the bank of a river", and we won't have the koach to fight the yetzer hara.

[I'm going to continue today's piece later since my wife is due home any minute...]

As the Ramcha"l points out, a lack of Torah leads to a lack of vigilance and a rejection of the medication that HaShem has prescribed for the yetzer hara.  But learning Torah, and at specified times, leads one back onto the proper derech.  That is the remedy to the first difficulty of vigilance: make Torah and a cheshbon hanefesh central in your life and the focus of your day, and then you won't become overly involved in the physicality of the world.

The second difficulty we find with vigilance is joking around too much.  If one takes things too lightly, it's very difficult to put him on the proper path.  This person doesn't appreciate the severity of making the wrong decisions in life.  Furthermore, his frivolity causes him to slowly lose his inhibitions.  What once seemed like a clear aveira which he would never transgress eventually becomes something doable, chas ve'chalilah.  This is because frivolity is the exact opposite of vigilance.  Whereas vigilance is about being aware of your actions and their severity, frivolity is about clearing one's mind from that which is important.