A Dream

I sometimes have a dream that my feel feel leaden and unmoveable. I'm trying to get somewhere - home, for example - and no matter how much I try I can't move.

Then I wake up and discover that G-d has returned that ability to me.

Have you ever felt that you're functioning as if you were asleep? Maybe your mind says, "I can't;" then you hands follow with "I won't," your heart pounds "I'm so sad (or upset, depressed, scared..)." and your feet don't move.

But this stasis is an illusion. Our thoughts are in fact deceiving us. How do I know?

Look at a toddler. Just like that child, we are all born with the inner strength and motivation to move and go forward. We never lose that ability, in the same way that we never forget how to walk or how to do anything that we're born with or have learned across time, (barring, G-d forbid, an unforeseen illness. Even then, we may be able to learn how to compensate by building up other skills).

Our abilities may atrophy from disuse but, if we desire and are willing to exert the effort, we can move and reach new heights.

As I read recently (Heaven on Earth , published by Aish.com and Targum Press),"effort does not deplete, it completes."

Awaken, find your strength, and move!