The Pattern of Life I

The potential for life, 

unlimited and in its rawest form, 

what could be.

The couching, 

the incubating of this potential, 

to nurture, to grow, 

what will be.

The emergence of life, 

the birth and actuality of,

what was to be.

What is.

The way life begins is the way life continues. With all things in life there’s a pattern. 

In the beginning G-d imbues in us a spark of inspiration, an idea, a seed of what could be. This energy is unlimited possibility and unboundered potential. It's exciting and fresh and miraculous. It's not logical or calculated, it's our dreams and ambitions and life’s possibilities as they are given to us directly from G-d. It’s the brightest, most spiritual light we can experience.

G-d then contracts Himself and charges us with bringing this potential to fruition in the real world. This energy nurtures and creates the potential’s reality. It takes the flash and works it, it’s the process of becoming. It’s the action we take and the effort we put in. 

When we overcome through our efforts we merge inspiration and actualization, and yield transcendence. When we push through this process we experience a reality that is even better than what we thought could have been, as it was worked for and earned. The actualization of our inspiration far surpasses its potentiality. 

We see this pattern many times in our history and our own lives. When in the womb we are given all the Torah knowledge one could hope for. Upon our emergence into the world we forget and must now seek and gain this knowledge for ourselves. Stage one was G-d given, state two we work for. Stage three, should we overcome the tumultuous process, we find great pleasure and fulfillment in it. (Incidentally, this is why certain concepts and knowledge feel familiar to us, we are actually recognizing what we already know but is hidden, as opposed to learning something new.)

When Hashem took B’nei Yisrael out of Egypt, they experienced a miraculous flash from G-d. The moment of their exodus, of their conception as a nation was unnatural and unearned. Hashem then withdrew His light and placed them in the desolate desert challenging them to earn the receiving of the Torah and their relationship with Him. 

When we conceive of an idea, or begin a business, a relationship, even a vacation, we will invariably find this pattern. Hashem gives us the original inspiration and then causes our excitement to wane, facilitating this process, to allow and demand of us to earn it, to build it for ourselves. He stays with us throughout, cheering us on, at once both throwing obstacles and clearing the way for us. And when we persevere, we are rewarded with the feeling, the elation of accomplishment, with transcendence. 

Herein lies the pattern of life. Inspiration, process, transcendence. May we be able to recognize it, to learn to expect it and to come to appreciate and conquer it. May we have the faith and fortitude to transcend across the many facets of our lives. 

This piece was heavily influenced by Rabbi Doctor AkivaTatz