We Are All Lighthouse Keepers

A few weeks ago, after dropping off our oldest daughter at JFK for her flight to Israel, we went down to the Jersey Shore for a couple of days of Beach Therapy. It was great to sit at the ocean, feeling the breeze and the waves, and ponder life. How does it happen that one day you become new parents, and what seems like a few days later (but is really 22 years later!) your child is making Aliyah and moving halfway around the world?

The truth is that a lot of life is like that. You put one foot in front of the other, without even looking up to see where you are or how far you have come, only to realize eventually that you have travelled a great distance.

I was reminded of this on the 2nd day of our trip when we explored Cape May, NJ and visited the Cape May Lighthouse. Climbing the 199 steps to the top was harder than it sounded, especially with people going in both directions up and down the narrow winding stairs. Every 30 or so steps there was a landing with a window, and we took advantage of several of them to catch our breath and see how far we had progressed. When we finally reached the top the 360 degree view was amazing. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be the lighthouse keeper, climbing those steps several times a day, with supplies and food, to keep the light shining.

Reflecting on this, I am reminded that in a certain sense we are all lighthouse keepers. We dedicate our lives to living a certain set of core values and beliefs and do everything we can to keep those values burning brightly to help others navigate their journeys as well.

For the last 5 years or so I have been learning Mishna, almost every day, with my twins. For Rina's Bat Mitzvah we completed Seder Moed. For Simcha's Bar Mitzvah we completed Seder Nezikin. And now we have completed Seder Nashim. Each day we learn one or two Mishnayot, for 5-10 minutes, and little by little we are making our way through Shas. We have now completed 1944 Mishnayot (out of 4192 total) and have completed 3 of the 6 Sidrei Mishna. Our goal is to learn the next 3 Sedarim (Zeraim, Kodshim, and Taharot) over the next 4 years (we have 2248 Mishnayot to go). It is not always convenient or fun to learn the daily Mishna. Sometimes one of us doesn't feel well, is overwhelmed with work, or just isn't in the mood. But we keep at it, rarely missing a day. Each time we complete another Masechet we pause, like we did on those lighthouse landings, to catch our breath and see how far we have come. But then we keep going. I would like to think that the more we learn the higher we are climbing, and that the view from the top will make it all worthwhile.

So what's the message? Set goals and start climbing. It doesn't matter what the goals are. That is up to you. Just choose something that matters to you so that you will keep at it even when things get tough. And then don't worry about where you are on the journey or how far you have left to go. Just set a goal and a pace, and keep at it, one foot in front of the other. Along the way find space and time to pause and reflect on how far you have come (rather than how far you have left to go). And when you get to the top take a few moments to reflect on the incredible journey.