When I was a teenager I was chronically dissatisfied. I spent most of my after-school hours at my best friend's house, wishing that I had her family (including her dog). I longed for adventure and romance, but pretty much experienced neither. (Or so it seemed to me.)
I couldn't wait to grow up and have a life that was other than what it was.
These days, although I am older and hopefully wiser, I am still aware of that inner voice which is quick to judge the present moment, longing for it to be other than what it is.
In the biblical tale of Joseph which we are currently reading in the annual Torah cycle, Potifar's wife is the embodiment of dissatisfaction. Joseph has been sold by his brothers into slavery, and comes to work in the home of Potifar, a wealthy Egyptian. Potifar's wife is smitten by this handsome young man, and attempts to seduce him. When Joseph rejects her repeated advances and finally flees from her, she howls in outrage and seeks revenge.
Thankfully, there is an alternative to being chronically dissatisfied - an alternative embodied in the character of Joseph himself. Although it is easy to read the Joseph story and conclude that in his youth he was a spoiled brat, here we catch a glimpse of another side to his personality.
Listen to how Joseph is portrayed in this episode: His father calls for him to go off in search of his brothers who hate him, and Joseph says simply "Here I am." His brothers throw him into a pit, and Joseph says - nothing. His brothers haul him out of the pit and sell him into slavery, and Joseph says - nothing. He goes to work in Potifar's home, and when Mrs. Potifar harasses him Joseph speaks only of his loyalty to Potifar and to God. When Potifar has him thrown into a dungeon for allegedly attacking Mrs. Potifar, Joseph says - nothing.
It is not until the conclusion of the episode that we hear Joseph mention his situation at all, and even then it is a very simple statement of fact. Joseph seems to accept with equanimity everything that happens to him. Things that seem to be fortune, Joseph (and the narrator) attribute to God rather than to Joseph's own actions. Things that seem to be misfortune, Joseph accepts without comment or describes matter-of-factly.
We hear no anguished, angry cry of "Why Me?" Neither do we see Joseph lapse into fatalism. Instead, Joseph thinks creatively of ways to change his situation for the better while still accepting that in this moment, this is his God-given life.
This story of Joseph's young adulthood offers us a model for responding to life's stresses. We can hear that inner voice which is constantly dissatisfied with the present moment, and we can choose not to give it the last word on reality. We can choose to believe, as Joseph ultimately does, that everything that happens to us can be seen in retrospect to have been part of a larger picture - leading us to be who we are in this moment.
I couldn't wait to grow up and have a life that was other than what it was.
These days, although I am older and hopefully wiser, I am still aware of that inner voice which is quick to judge the present moment, longing for it to be other than what it is.
In the biblical tale of Joseph which we are currently reading in the annual Torah cycle, Potifar's wife is the embodiment of dissatisfaction. Joseph has been sold by his brothers into slavery, and comes to work in the home of Potifar, a wealthy Egyptian. Potifar's wife is smitten by this handsome young man, and attempts to seduce him. When Joseph rejects her repeated advances and finally flees from her, she howls in outrage and seeks revenge.
Thankfully, there is an alternative to being chronically dissatisfied - an alternative embodied in the character of Joseph himself. Although it is easy to read the Joseph story and conclude that in his youth he was a spoiled brat, here we catch a glimpse of another side to his personality.
Listen to how Joseph is portrayed in this episode: His father calls for him to go off in search of his brothers who hate him, and Joseph says simply "Here I am." His brothers throw him into a pit, and Joseph says - nothing. His brothers haul him out of the pit and sell him into slavery, and Joseph says - nothing. He goes to work in Potifar's home, and when Mrs. Potifar harasses him Joseph speaks only of his loyalty to Potifar and to God. When Potifar has him thrown into a dungeon for allegedly attacking Mrs. Potifar, Joseph says - nothing.
It is not until the conclusion of the episode that we hear Joseph mention his situation at all, and even then it is a very simple statement of fact. Joseph seems to accept with equanimity everything that happens to him. Things that seem to be fortune, Joseph (and the narrator) attribute to God rather than to Joseph's own actions. Things that seem to be misfortune, Joseph accepts without comment or describes matter-of-factly.
We hear no anguished, angry cry of "Why Me?" Neither do we see Joseph lapse into fatalism. Instead, Joseph thinks creatively of ways to change his situation for the better while still accepting that in this moment, this is his God-given life.
This story of Joseph's young adulthood offers us a model for responding to life's stresses. We can hear that inner voice which is constantly dissatisfied with the present moment, and we can choose not to give it the last word on reality. We can choose to believe, as Joseph ultimately does, that everything that happens to us can be seen in retrospect to have been part of a larger picture - leading us to be who we are in this moment.