In Parashah Re’eh there is a verse that says: “And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. And you shall observe and do these statutes.”(Devarim 16:12)
Everything is relative. What might be an issue for you for someone else it’s not even something to consider.Perspective in life will give us the tools to be able to handle those moments in which we could loose our calm.
There is a story I read in Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book “Growth Through Torah” in which an American lawyer recounts how one day he was traveling to Israel and he was at Kennedy Airport. The plane got delayed one hour, two hours, three hours…..ten hours!!!! Everyone was very upset and began to complain as it would be expected. Suddenly he noticed and older couple who were calmly sitting down and appeared to be very relaxed. He decided to approach them and asked, “how can you remain calm waiting for so many hours in Kennedy Airport? For which they replied: “well, in WWII we were in a concentration camp and so waiting a number of hours in Kennedy Airport doesn’t bother us at all.”
This example clearly illustrates how our reactions are relative.
Although we ourselves should train ourselves in this way, when someone else complains we should have empathy towards them and NEVER say: “it could be worse.” First empathize with the person, then try to help him improve his situation by showing him different ways of seeing it by asking the person questions that will drive him or her to come to different conclusions, like: “what is the worst scenario? What positive action can you take? What is the growth opportunity here?”
Helping others out of emotional pain is a great Mitzvah and act of kindness.
So next time you are stuck somewhere either physically or spiritually use this tools and if it’s someone else take the opportunity to help him or her.
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