War movies always have the same scene: the soldiers are pinned down. Enemy fire rains down on them mercilessly. They are stuck with no channel of relief.
Suddenly one of the men overcomes the mental paralysis and charges forward against good judgment. He braves the terror and saves the platoon.
Like all good stories there is a hero who challenges his opponent and succeeds where other fail. Think of Odysseus, Achilles or Daedalus. In children’s mythology we have Little Red Riding Hood and King Arthur. Even in our sacred Torah we have David and Goliath.
The reason such tales are woven and we eagerly consume them time and again is because they encourage us. We need them. We know that these stories are aimed at our lives. While dragons may not confront us, we have co-workers who defame us. We have habits that hold us back from excellence. We know we can succeed if the obstacles that block us would go away.
Life is not static. Our choice is to try our best to hold our position or move forward, just like the solider in the trench.
Their path: “When you try to climb in mountain to prove how big you are, you almost never make it. And even if you do it’s a hollow victory. In order to sustain the victory you have to prove yourself again and again and again in some other way, and again and again and again driven forever to fill a false image, haunted by the fear that the image is not true and someone will find out.” –Robert Pirsig
The first question every intrepid soul – and we are all heroes in making on a great journey -- needs to ask is whether we are coursing our journey, or someone else’s. At times we may find that we have not been challenging our dragon. If we are in pursuit of someone else’s dream we will not be fulfilled. Our path is unique.
Our path: Once we find our direction we become the storyteller, the journeyman and hero, as long as we continue forward. This last part is key: “as long as we continue forward.”
In process of becoming a hero, it does not matter whether we are an accountant, teller, stamp collector or mechanic. We all have massive borders to climb, impenetrable obstacles to overcome and a hero’s welcome awaits us at the end of this trek. Nobody can tell us where to go or how to proceed. People may be guides along the route, suggesting other pathways but ultimately their journey belongs to them. Their story is not our story.
This is the meaning of Rebbe Nachman’s adage, “The world is a narrow bridge and the only concern is to be unafraid.” It is also the basis of Ben Heh-Heh’s axiom (in the Mishna), “According to the effort is the reward.”
One major component of our life’s journey is to pack well. Without proper provision how can you hope to conquer your foes?
This is why we study Torah. As any student of the Writ knows, Torah demands immersion. It insists that we sink our soul into it and unravel its mysteries to provide provender for our adventure. We are it (as the Talmud states, “Torah and Israel are one”). When we submerse ourselves in Torah and understand it on one of the infinite number of levels it proffers, we obtain the greatest clues to unlock the mystery our heroic journey.
