Let Go & Let G-d | The Secret to Worrying Less and Living with More Joy

There's a message about amusement parks that I'd like to share with you today. You know, amusement parks are a very interesting part of our culture, our society. People go to amusement parks to find amusement, to find joy, to have uh a good old jolly time, right? There's stuff activities for adults, for teens, for little kids, you know, all amusement parks around the world, each one has their own kinage, their own, their own thing that makes it unique. One of the defining aspects of a good amusement park is the roller coaster. You know, the roller coaster is an iconic ride. A ride that that makes you that takes you off your feet, literally, right? It takes you off of the normal day-to-day walking in the ground, walking on on two feet, and it brings you on a ride where you're going faster than normal. You're you're moving in different directions than normal. It's it's an amazing concept. Who invented it? I don't know. Somebody maybe was stuck. I should really look into that in research. I'm actually curious who who invented the roller coaster and why? Like what was the what was the purpose? What was the what was the idea behind it? Um, but it's interesting, you know, when you go to an amusement park and notice different types of people. You know, growing up, you know, our family used to go to this place in America. It was called Hershey Park. And Hershey Park, you know, they have a chocolate factory, maybe you're familiar with Hershey Chocolate chocolate, famous chocolate. But I remember I was always jealous of of those who went on roller coasters. A cousin of mine convinced me once to go on a roller coaster. I'm talking about the ones that mammish go fast, that go really fast, that go twists and turns upside down. And I went on it once, and I I really I don't think I could go on it again. I I was nauseous the rest of the day. Um, I just I I can't do it. You know, I I spin around once and I start to feel like, whoa, where am I? So, like going on a roller coaster, you could imagine. But people people love it. I want to get back to that. You know, there's there's a few categories of people at amusement parks. There are some who go and they just like playing the games. You know, amusement parks generally have have games. You know, I know at Hershey Park they have this one called uh I don't know what it's called, but it's a basketball game where you shoot a basketball into a hoop, and if you get it, you get either you get like a uh make sure you get a basketball to take home. Um if you make a couple in a row, you get something bigger. I always was in this spa. I thought it's just like an amazing thing. You know, people are walking around at these places, sometimes they're they're they're carrying a carriage, a stroller, and they have this huge giant um toy, some some big stuffed animal larger than like triple the size of their of their stroller, something that they want in like a milk toss or a ring, a ring toss, or a milk can game, whatever it is. It's just like a funny thing. People are walking around. Normally, you know, in a regular day-to-day, if you were to you know walk in a supermarket and you were to see somebody with a stroller and this oversized, um, you know, uh stuffed animal, you know it's like, what? But at an amusement park, it's a normal thing. It just it just is. So some people go there for the games, and okay, very nice. And then there are others who actually they they go on the rides, but they're they're they're freaked out, they're scared to their wits. They they're they're and what do they do? They they hold on literally for for dear life because they're afraid that something, oh who knows what? They're so nervous, so scared. And you ask them, hey, did you have a good time? And those people that you ask, they generally do not have they they they don't have a good time. It's it they were just scared to their wits. Honestly, that that was kind of like me. Or our truth is, to be honest, you know, I told you I mentioned I I went on um this roller coaster once, but it usually I just would rather play the basketball game instead. But then those people I was really jealous of were the ones who actually were able to go onto the roller coaster, were able to go onto this incredible fast ride, ups and downs turns, this way, that way. And they would do something different than everybody else. And I noticed something. These people had the best time. And you know what they did? They didn't hold on. They left they lifted their hands up high. They yelled, they screamed, you hear them, but they had the best time. Those people at the amusement parks, the ones who were able to let go, the ones who were able to to understand the situation and trust the process, they were able to let go, lift their hands up in the air and just yell and scream in unbridled joy. I was jealous of them. Because they understood something that perhaps I didn't. And you know, we're talking about an amusement park, so yeah, it's a silly thing. You know, people have fun, good, great. But I think there's an important mushal, a parable, a lesson that we can learn to our lives. You know, we could walk through life and just play the games and just you know, take the safe, the safe side and play play the games, play this, play that, play the milk carton game, or whatever it is, just live our live our lives. We could also take the next step and we could go on the ride of life on the roller coaster and but just be nervous the whole time. Be me faked, Tamid. We could just be oh I'm not actually Israeli, but uh I thought that was maybe a decent Israeli Havaran accent. We could just be nervous the whole time. Oh, is this bad thing gonna happen? What's what's gonna be next? So what if this bad thing just just worrying and worrying and worrying? Daiga, daiga. Mammish, the opposite of Sincha. Daiga worry is the app is the opposite of joy. And then there are those individuals who walk around with joy. Those are the ones who take that ride, they take that roller coaster of life and they lift their hands up high. They lift their lands, they lift their land or their hands up high, they let go of what they're holding on to. They let go and they let God. Those people find the most joy. The Torah tells us, Hashleichem, Yahavcha, right? We have to we have to throw our burdens up to God, let go and let God. When we trust the process, when we learn to develop feelings of amuna and bitachon, feelings of of faith, feelings of trust in the Lord up high, in God Almighty, and realizing that up high is actually not so accurate. He's not just up high, but he's right here, down, right here in my life, in my with me, with wherever I am, with when I'm driving in the in the vehicle, when I'm eating food, when I'm with the family, when I'm working at a job, when I'm praying at a shoal, when I'm studying the Torah, wherever it is that I might be in life, God is with me. And therefore, yes, the life has turbulent twists and turns, ups and downs. Life is like a roller coaster at an amusement park. But we have the ability to choose, and sometimes this takes time. It does take time to learn, to learn and to develop this feeling of closeness and this feeling of not just the munabitaka, not just a feeling of belief, but but trusting in God. You know, the ability to let go, the ability not to hold on so tight, but to be willing to let go. Sometimes we think we're in control, but it's an it's an illusion. Yes, we have the bakira, we have the choice, we have the free will to make our decisions, but ultimately God is is is running the show, God is is riding the ship, God is is here with us, and if we were to be able to just let go a little bit and let him into our lives, we would be feeling much less daiga, much less worry, and a lot more joy, more content. And that's what we have to be like. Okay, yes, in the physical world, you don't actually have to go on a roller coaster in an amusement park. I have no plans to do that. I don't enjoy it actually. But in terms of the parable, in terms of the idea, to understand that it's those people, it's those guys who are on the roller coaster, and those guys who are on the roller coaster and are not holding on, but are lifting their hands up high, yelling unbridled joy. Those are the people that we can emulate in our lives to let go a little bit. You know, we recently read the Parsha of Noah, and I asked my my family a question at the Shabbos table. You know, the the the Noah was told so many things, so many details. There was a roof and there were three floors and there were people, animals, and and and smelly garbage, and there is a um uh the part of the there was a window and there was uh heaven mira, there was a shining stone to allow light. There were so many different aspects that you need to create a teva, to create an ark, and the spend 120 years building such, but never in the Torah does it tell us something about an engine, about a steering wheel. Isn't that interesting? Doesn't that question beg to be asked? Where was the steering wheel? Where was the cockpit? Where was that, whatever the control thing for the captain on a boat is? Where where was that? What is this like a self-drive Tesla? And the answer is a reset. It's a resounding yes. It was like a self-drive Tesla. It was a self-draw-driven machine, not self-like it would self-like any single person, but self-meaning it was a self-drive. The thing itself did it. God did it. The world needed a spiritual facelift, a physical facelift, because there was an illusion that we were in control. I could take whatever I want, I could do whatever I want. And that type of illusion, that type of worldview, it leads to chaos, leads to destruction, it leads to more daiga and worry because this guy's gonna steal my stuff and this person, that person, and there's no there's no control. Vatimoleha art's chamas the land was filled, not with chumus. That that would probably be delicious, but it wasn't. It wasn't chumus, it was chamas, it was filled with robbery, theft, with taking things with it was out of control because of an illusion that we were in control. And therefore, Hashem brought upon a mobble, and Noah and his family went in a teva, and there was all these aspects of the teva, and the floors, and the animals, and the garbage and the people, and but there was one thing that was missing, but wasn't really missing, it was Bedafka, it was on purpose. You know what that was? It was the cockpit, it was the steering wheel, it was the engine because the tavo needed to be self-driven. Just let go, Noah. Let go, I'm in control. Hashem was gonna move the table wherever it goes, through the waters of the world. Hashem was gonna guide the table wherever it should go. He was gonna write the ship. Sometimes the best way to write the ship is just to allow Hashem into our lives, to have that Amun al Bittachon and realize that he's the one who is guiding us, he's the one in control. And I think that this is a valuable lesson. I know it's a valuable lesson, something that that that speaks to me, and I hope that it resonates with you as well. May we all be able to sit back, to have that trust that we're being self-driven. Yes, along the way we make choices. We have the here, we're human beings, of course, and every decision we make should be with that with that understanding in mind that God is here and let me let me do my part in making this world a better place. But take a step back, take a step back, let go. Don't hold on so tight with all the things that are going on. Let go a little bit and allow God to penetrate your life. Allow God to be in your life, let go, be like that guy on the roller coaster whose hands are up. Hashlikal Hashem, lift your hands up high and let Hashem take control of your life and realize that your life is like Vitaifa. There's no need for a steering wheel, an engine, or a cockpit because ultimately Hashem is in control. Yes, Noah have to do his aštadless. He has spent 120 years of his life building that ark, and we can do the same. We spend our lives building and building and doing at the same time taking a step back and allowing Hashem to enter our lives. And in that merit, we will all be Zocha, mirz Hashem, hopefully, to have a life filled with much less daiga, much less worry, and a lot more joy, a lot more simcha in our lives. I hope that you have a meaningful rest of your day.