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New Beginnings I am in awe. The group began as ten individuals coming together to study every other Sunday morning. Several were there because it was something to do while the children were in religious school. Others came because it sounded intriguing. Could they really solve their problems? Could they truly slow down enough to create some space in their lives? Could they actually come to accept the behavior of their partner or children with equanimity rather than annoyance? Could they really learn to be better people, helping others more and bringing peace to the world? What would it take? And then it happened. The group continued to meet. New members joined; some less-active, often over-committed, members dropped out. Study partners met in person, by phone or via email. And then, two years later, the group was no longer the same group. It was not so much that the membership had changed, but a core group had stayed together long enough to become a cohesive unit—a container for learning—and all had grown. They were no longer the same inside. I was no longer the same. We had all been transformed. The first step was to acknowledge not only that we are not the center of the world, but that we are not in as much control as we think we are. We needed to realize that in order to learn and grow, we first had to start with a clean slate, so to speak, and approach the task with some degree of humility. We then moved on to looking at our anger, at people and in situations, often manifesting as impatience. Recognizing the fragility of life, we turned to gratitude for what we had been given. We realized that if we could allow this gratitude to permeate our lives, we would feel greater trust. With a greater sense of peace, we would be less critical of others and be more easily able to forgive, and honor, them. We would also be less critical of ourselves, overcome any tendencies toward perfectionism, and do what needed to be done with enthusiasm. No longer was procrastination going to hold us back from accomplishing our goals or becoming the people we wished to be. Now, as the month of Elul comes to a close and the High Holidays are almost upon us, is the time to make a commitment for what you would like to accomplish in the forthcoming year. Perhaps your goals are very practical in terms of your relationships with family, friends and co-workers. Perhaps you would like to explore why you’re here and what God expects of you. Perhaps you are looking for more meaning in your life or a greater sense of spirituality in a Jewish context. Whatever it is, the study of Mussar can help. And the best place to start is with the A Season of Mussar I course located right in your community. Don’t procrastinate! Take a look right now at the local courses available to you. Enrolling in a course will produce results almost immediately. Life will feel easier and seem to flow better. And the more you work on the soul traits—the areas that need polishing in our lives—the more you will benefit and the greater the transformation will be.
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