A great sage one said, “Before you can find
God, you must lose yourself.”
Kabbalah teaches that we can receive all the happiness, joy, and fulfillment the Creator wishes to bestow upon us when we take up the spiritual work of becoming more like Creator, transforming our selfish nature into one that is selfless.
Unfortunately, our ego gets in the way of this work almost every day. None of us are truly selfless. We have agendas in almost everything we do. We go to work to earn a paycheck. We get into relationships because we like what that person gives us. Even when we do charitable actions, we often seek praise or at least a “thank you” in return.
With all our agendas, how is it possible to ever get to a place of selflessness? Is it even possible to lose ourselves?
It is possible, but it isn’t easy.
The secret to being selfless is to give when it’s most uncomfortable, or difficult to carry out.
When someone asks you for a ride to the airport, and it’s the last thing you want to do but you do it anyway, you are acting in likeness to the Creator as a force of infinite sharing. If you have barely any money in your bank account and a friend – or maybe someone who hasn’t been a very good friend – comes to you in need and you share what you have with them, you know your love is unconditional, as is the Creator’s.
All good deeds reveal goodness in the world, but if you want to reveal greatness in the world, give until it hurts.
Living a path of spirituality isn’t easy because it requires sacrifice. But no matter what it feels like you are giving up – your time, energy, talents, or money – the thing you’re really giving up is your ego.
This is what the sage meant when he said that losing one’s self is the path to finding God.
The more we control our ego, the more we connect to the source of all blessings.
Kabbalah teaches that we can receive all the happiness, joy, and fulfillment the Creator wishes to bestow upon us when we take up the spiritual work of becoming more like Creator, transforming our selfish nature into one that is selfless.
Unfortunately, our ego gets in the way of this work almost every day. None of us are truly selfless. We have agendas in almost everything we do. We go to work to earn a paycheck. We get into relationships because we like what that person gives us. Even when we do charitable actions, we often seek praise or at least a “thank you” in return.
With all our agendas, how is it possible to ever get to a place of selflessness? Is it even possible to lose ourselves?
It is possible, but it isn’t easy.
The secret to being selfless is to give when it’s most uncomfortable, or difficult to carry out.
When someone asks you for a ride to the airport, and it’s the last thing you want to do but you do it anyway, you are acting in likeness to the Creator as a force of infinite sharing. If you have barely any money in your bank account and a friend – or maybe someone who hasn’t been a very good friend – comes to you in need and you share what you have with them, you know your love is unconditional, as is the Creator’s.
All good deeds reveal goodness in the world, but if you want to reveal greatness in the world, give until it hurts.
Living a path of spirituality isn’t easy because it requires sacrifice. But no matter what it feels like you are giving up – your time, energy, talents, or money – the thing you’re really giving up is your ego.
This is what the sage meant when he said that losing one’s self is the path to finding God.
The more we control our ego, the more we connect to the source of all blessings.
72 Name of the Week
Chet Hey LamedFORGET THYSELF
I am going to get out of the way and allow the tree of life to lift me up. In the past, I have been stubborn, set in my ways, and I will let go. Instead of clinging to my beliefs, I will open up, allowing the Light of the upper dimension to shine down into my realm and transform my life.
I have real desire, not for myself alone, but to connect to something greater. Letting go of my ego and stepping aside, I feel the divine Force taking over.
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