“My horse has the lowest maintenance cost!”
“How do you do it?”
“Horses normally have a balanced diet of barley, apples, carrots, and oats. I gradually took away the barley, apples, and carrots. She now eats only oats, and I’ve trained her to eat one meal instead of that constant nibbling!”
“OMG! I tried the same thing! I even went a step further and trained my horse not to eat at all! But my horse was just too stubborn and refused to learn! She died on me!”
While the trainer was looking to lower his costs, the horse needed its food. A horse without food will die.
Sometimes it’s ok to be stubborn and to stick it out, to ignore the calls of adjusting to a new reality and the voice of the “trainer”.
Compromising is an important skill. But our survival is dependent on perseverance!
That’s how we got here despite all the odds.
The key question we need to ask ourselves is: what is not up for negotiation? Is everything up for sale? Or are there some things that we deem to be our identity – to be untouchable?
This question is not only a nationalistic question but one we have to ask ourselves in our personal lives. What will I never give up on? What will I pursue at all costs?
The key to life is not compromise. It’s identity.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendy
