The Price of Inspiration



How do we look when we are uninspired? Do we let go of the values that define us, throwing in the proverbial towel, or hang on to them for dear life, praying for our next spiritual uplift?

Inspiration, by definition, is short-term. It’s a burst that needs endless replenishment. Important, but not reflective of our real selves. What’s truly worth our time and energy is identifying  and shaping our lowest common-denominator, the person we are when our role models are on holiday and our texts don’t speak to us.

Midrash on Parshat Vayechi tells us that Yaakov wished to reveal the date of the final Redemption to his children, yet he reneged in the last moment. What was the rationale for the change of heart?

Knowing the potential date of Redemption is inspirational, it gives us the push we need to keep up our commitment, knowing that we only have a short distance still to cover. However, the very notion of the final Redemption is one of a fundamental change to reality. A change which is not a short-term ‘puff’ but one which endures for eternity. Inspiration is thus not the appropriate formula for its achievement. To the contrary, it’s the lack of inspiration and the persistence notwithstanding our perceived spiritual low which readies us for the ongoing Redemptive era.

Next time you lack inspiration, think of it as an opportunity to touch base with your long-term self, and realise that it is your conduct under these conditions that creates true and eternal change.  

Based on Lekkutei Sichot vol 20 pp228-234

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