Without endurance, any good endeavor or intention has no chance of success.
Do you remember "The Little Engine that Could?" It’s the story of an upbeat engine that saves the day when a long train needs to be pulled over a high mountain. Larger trains refuse the job for various reasons.
The small engine is asked to take on the challenge, and agrees. Chugging the phrase, “I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can,” he eventually pulls that big train over the mountain.
The book, a classic, is a celebration of optimism, the power of positive thinking, drive and perseverance. In some sense, it’s a metaphor for the American Dream. Just think the right thoughts, manifest your desire on a message board or repeat them to yourself at breakfast and bedtime, and hey!—you’ll get what you want.
It seems that while there are some out there that practice this behavior with their eyes closed, so many of us need a constant reminder. How does one persevere? In continuation with the past weeks columns, regarding the inner workings of our personality, kabbalisticly speaking. This week we will examine the 4th of the seven emotions, the attribute of endurance. Endurance or in Hebrew "Netzach" literally: Victory -- is the part of us that has the properties of the little engine that could.
The attribute of endurance, Netzach in Hebrew, is the part of us that expresses fortitude and ambition, determination and tenacity. It is a balance of patience, persistence and guts. Endurance is also being reliable and accountable, which establishes security and commitment. Without endurance, any good endeavor or intention has no chance of success. Endurance means to be alive, to be driven by what counts. It is the readiness to fight for what you believe, to go all the way.
This, of course, is hat is responsible for so much irrational behavior amongst our species, too many people become marinated in senseless endurance and are so focused on winning, that so many a time it results in behaviors that breeds destruction and havoc. Consider the mindless ways on which, sadly, many couples approach divorce.
The need to win comes at the cost of raising healthy balanced children. Thus, if we are going to live a more productive life, it is of utmost importance that our drive to endure be closely examined to ensure that it is used in a healthy and productive manner.
As was mentioned last week, our array of emotions are multidimensional; when we examine the quality of our emotions, we probe deeper:
Lovingkindness in Endurance
For endurance to be effective it needs to be caring and loving. A neutral or indifferent attitude will reflect in a marginal commitment. We ask ourselves, does my endurance cause me to be, or seem to be, inflexible? Does my drive and determination cause me to be controlling? Am I too demanding? Endurance needs us to first pause to ensure that it is accomplished in a loving manner.
Discipline in Endurance
Healthy endurance is when it is directed toward productive goals and expressed in a constructive manner. Is my endurance and determination focused to help cultivate good habits and break bad ones? Or is it the other way around? Does my endurance come from strength or weakness? The discipline aspect of endurance is what gives us the ability to break bad habits.
Compassion in Endurance
The compassion of endurance reflects a most beautiful quality of endurance: an enduring commitment to help another grow. Endurance without compassion is misguided and selfish. Am I able to rise above my ego and empathize with my competitors? Am I gracious in victory?
Endurance in Endurance
Everyone has willpower and determination. We have the capacity to endure and prevail under the most trying of circumstances. There are times that, convinced that we are doing all that we can, we are believing our own "story" of how determined we are are, yet in reality our behavior is mercurial. Thus, we ask ourselves, do I underestimate my capacity to endure? This particular trait is the power within us to commit to developing new good habits with the attitude of "whatever it takes" and thus succeed time and time again.
Humility in Endurance
Yielding - a by product of humility - is an essential element of enduring. Standing fast can sometimes be a formula for destruction. The oak, lacking the ability to bend in the hurricane, is uprooted. The reed, which yields to the wind, survives. When endurance is fueled by inner strength it allows us to yield, out of strength not fear. Humility helps us recognize and acknowledge that the capacity to endure and prevail comes from the limitless Divine soul innate within each person, and when we see live in our souls perspective, we naturally embody humility.
Bonding in Endurance
Bonding expresses our unwavering commitment to the person or experience we are bonding with, a commitment so powerful that we will endure all to preserve it. Endurance without bonding will not endure. To ensure the endurance of our new resolution, we bond with it immediately. This can be assured by promptly actualizing our resolution in some constructive deed or committing ourself to another.
Nobility in Endurance
Sovereignty is the cornerstone of endurance. Endurance that encompasses the previous six qualities is indeed a tribute and testimony to the majesty of the human spirit. Is my endurance dignified? Does it bring out the best in me? When faced with hardships am I confident in my of the Divine gift, my life force and her strengths, or do I cower and shrivel up in fear? When we take the time to deeply explore our attributes, we are assured to come away from the experience a more truly fulfilled and compassionate person.
Adopted from “A Spiritual Guide to the Counting of the Omer -- Forty-Nine Steps to Personal Refinement” by Rabbi Simon Jacobson.
If you would like to learn more about the Kabbalah science of our personality, we are beginning a new class on this subject. For more information please email me at [email protected].