Over the summer, Chabad Israel Center kiddie camp ran a day camp for young kids. During the last week of camp, the counsellors bought a goldfish for the campers to help bring to life the weekly theme - discovering fish. Once camp was over, however, my own kids got it into their heads that it was their job to care for the poor fish. It’s been a week since camp ended, and all I’ve been hearing is, let’s feed the fish! Let’s play with the fish! Good shabbos fish! Hello fish! Bye fish! It was only after the request that the fish sleep in their room that I decided to take a closer look at the object of my children’s obsession.
Peering into the glass bowl, I wondered how the little creature kept himself entertained. His entire existence revolves (literally) around his next meal. In between meals, he swims round and round, with only my kids’ noses magnified against the glass to provide comic relief. And I thought I had it tough!
But if you think about it, we humans live exactly the same mundane life, only ours is a larger tank. We swim merrily from our home to our office, from meeting to meeting, and once in a while we wade into the further waters of a summer vacation. Our lives are governed by the schedules we adhere to and the deadlines we stress to meet. Amidst the constant buzz, we’ve completely lost focus. More and more often we tend to overlook our true priorities; a conference becomes more important than my son’s football match, my daughter’s homework will wait until after a phone call with my boss. We manage to convince ourselves that what we’re doing is what really counts, but in reality we lead nothing more than a fishbowl existence.
We stand now barely a week before Rosh Hashanah. This year, on the ultimate day of purpose and meaning, let us each resolve to infuse our lives with a dose of significance, to introduce a glimmer of light into our pathetic tanks. The cry of the shofar on this holy day shatters our carefully built routines, piercing through all our illusions. Where are you? It demands.
To lead a meaningful life you don’t need to climb mountains. All it takes is a shift in focus, a re-evaluation of what truly matters to you. Do a Mitzvah! Befriend your neighbor! Study Torah! Once you recognize where your priorities lie and commit to a life of purpose, you’ll suddenly notice that your daily swim has turned into a deep-sea dive.