Ten Minutes of Meaning (Part 179): Read Biographies - Mesillas Yesharim

wishing everyone a good morning Booker told please help yourself to uh coffee and to Donuts we wish and we hope and we dream of a good morning uh certainly the thoughts are with those in areas to all our brothers and sisters in Israel who will continue to be affected by a terror by the families of those who uh who are victims who are injured and who are seeking comfort and strength during this time our 10 minutes of meaning is generously sponsored Anonymous this morning's 10 minutes are also sponsored by my dear friends Heidi and alif Alan Fuchs in honor of the birth of Shaya Tasha and Elliot and Etsy to Shuli and Zach Mazel Tov and those areas Bernstein as well we are on the 21st paragraph message has been charting for us a path of how to be the best better versions of ourselves how to live with mindfulness and cautiousness and alacrity and Zeal how to purge our bad habits and instead how to fill them with positive ones we last left off told us it's impossible to be you cannot be Pious you cannot be righteous unless you set aside time to think unless a person is thoughtful you have to designate time to shut off shut down disconnect from the noise and from the hamster wheel of life to Simply Be to be present to think to contemplate to be introspective person has to practice his motivus she is person has to be bodied you do it in an empty field you could do it on the beach you could do it in a crowded room but to go into oneself to not be distracted to not be competing for your attention but to Simply close one's eyes be present with one's breath and be focused on the thoughts the feelings to be focused on the conversation with Hashem and to be focused on the conversation with ourselves and the conversation with ourselves continues to practice true as both of this is not a passing or a glancing thoughtfulness it's not that you take just half a moment 30 seconds it means rovas mother to really apply yourself to really have an agenda to that thinking to think every day to designate time that you put your phone on airplane mode or you leave it somewhere else altogether you go for a walk around the lake we're blessed to live in a place of amazing weather and beautiful places you can walk among nature without paying any entrance fee you don't have to go to Lion Country Safari if you want to see the iguanas and the lizards and the Ducks and the uh I don't even know what to name all the different species that are simply around the lake here in the middle of Montoya Circle and yes I am trying to make those who are watching at home a little bit jealous but all you have to do is go for a walk and you're exposed to you make contact with Incredible nature but you have to do it not listening to things in your ears and not talking on the phone not thinking about your to-do list that you have to get back to to just take it in to be present to experience the warmth of the sun on your neck or to feel that breeze on your cheek or to see nature in action and to feel the presence of Hashem to be in conversation to have an agenda to that conversation with him what are three things I want to Express gratitude about and they can't be the same generic ones every day I'm grateful I'm alive I'm grateful I have my family I'm grateful I have a home what today am I thankful for what happened or what do I feel what am I experiencing what should I not take for granted that today I want to be grateful for what are three things that I need what are three dreams or Ambitions that I have for myself it doesn't happen by chance it's not going to happen by accident it happened says mother we have to apply ourselves we have to be invested we have to actually be committed without even you have to plumb The Depths Ms Moray David this is think about what is but our mouth pour his heart out to Hashem experienced from every direction he had a father-in-law who wanted to kill him he had a son who wanted to kill him you had enemies he wanted to kill him we think of David he had it all he had wealth and Charisma he was a warrior and he was a poet he had all those things he also had a lot of challenges and a lot of struggles and a lot of misery and where did he turn to whom did he turn where did he find his strength and his refuge and his comfort none other than the ribonacon so we can tag on we can piggyback we can attach excuse me on that phrase we could attach ourselves to him and ride his coattails kibiosam kulam malayam because words are filled with love and with an awe an acknowledgment of the presence of Hashem and all kinds of khasidas all kinds of drive and ambition for piety so when we think about them don't just fly through them and don't put a check mark next to them that you said them get lost in them tell them is replete and filled and you know one of the one of the things that you can do in exercise that's very helpful and the Arts girl tell them I'm sure it's true for the Quran and every other translation but the Arts grow to hell and before each paragraph has a one sentence summary about what that paragraph's about when did it happen in David's life what was he feeling what motivated or inspired him to write that mismore and it all together changes your experience of saying to him if you pause for the millisecond to read that sentence before that paragraph So to tap into that paragraph where it came from some of the Poetry is not easy to understand the Hebrew to translate but if you know the background what motivated what inspired it's much easier and then you come across an expression and maybe that spread expression today wow maybe whatever's going on in your life or in the world or you're thinking about our brothers and sisters in Israel what they're going through there's one expression maybe there's one expression maybe talk about describes all I want is to feel close to you all I crave and all I long is to feel connected to you I'm looking for closeness to you so maybe you just meditate on that expression their malayama has so be lost in that expression think about and repeat it and hum it and sing it and meditate upon it and focus on your breathing and close your eyes and disconnect from the world and only seek him that closeness to Hashem is all I want don't avoid getting inspired to follow did not live in a spiritual Ivory Tower that we can't relate to Dominic had a life on the one hand category categorically different than ours he was that sounds like he was righteous as relatable as it may seem but on the other hand he was human and he experienced human challenges human struggles and he gave us a textbook he gave us a template and he said plug yourself in see yourself in these words come on this journey of life with me be moved by what you're saying but it's not going to happen if you're scrolling or you're typing or you're answering or you're listening and you're walking or you're folding your Talus and you're saying it to heal him it's not going to happen you got to disconnect to connect you got to really be present and invested you got to be mindful and conscious and conscientious gives another piece of fantastic advice he says if you want to be moved you want to be inspired you want to be transformed you know what you should read not only to hello you know what you should read my read the stories of righteous people read biographies if you really want to be inspired you want to be shaken up you want to be aroused in your ambition and drive to be a better person a better version of you read the stories of sadiqib several years ago we had a seminar with talban Shahar who was an Israeli a researcher he gave the most popular class on Harvard's history about happiness the science and happiness and when he spoke here he said someone astonishingly he said if you want to live with happiness the genre of literature that you should invest in that you should read that you should spend your time on are not self-help books he says I know I'm hurting myself I write self-help books he says the self-help books maybe maybe they can be helpful maybe not ultimately you're only going to help yourself when it comes from an internal drive and motivation to help yourself not somebody else he said I'll never forget he said what you should read are biographies the questions that followed someone asked them what biographies and he gave some suggestions maybe not all characterized as mice but biographies because when you read about what Abraham Lincoln went through to be presents great men and women of Yiddish guide of Torah and you realize it wasn't linear it didn't come simple it wasn't natural there are ups and there are Downs it's an oscillating narrative and you say wow I'm motivated I'm driven I could see myself I want to be just a little bit more like them read biographies we just started our Helix minion invites all men mods every month in the winter to a short malava malka and the short malava Mark as a formula to it in addition to the food certain singing and then the centerpiece of the malava malka is that you go into the weak with a great story with a great story then maybe that story will inspire that week maybe it'll Inspire in a business setting maybe it'll Inspire some business trip you have to take maybe it'll Inspire the balance between work and home maybe it'll Inspire to be a better husband or father maybe it'll Inspire to be dominant better or learn more but we know that it's stories that move us and this is not a new phenomenon this is what the ramachal is telling us invest in biographies read these stories they make you smarter and brighter you extract wisdom and you see a model and an example you follow their wonderful Deeds you follow the path that they've carved for us and we'll pick up next time what are the obstacles the detriments what stands in the way of the life we want to and we're meant to live why is that end of every day we say I had all kinds of dreams as they did not go the way I wanted this week did not go the way I wanted what's in the way and how do we eliminate it's what we'll pick up with next time if you do not yet get up get all the uh announcements the share schedule bonus material much more the link to watch live or later join our WhatsApp robin.org WhatsApp we're going uh living with amuna in 15 minutes 8 45. tonight we're going behind the beam of Isha Fleischer the spokesperson of cabron learn more about the terror in Israel Chevron benvir and more and the Shabbos we have the incredible exclusive hosting please take advantage of those opportunities including a special morning of learning tomorrow at Yeshua South Florida much more until next time stay happy stay healthy and still stay healthy holy