I hate jet lag.? Hardly a provocative statement? – does anyone really like jet lag?? Who could possibly enjoy waking up at odd hours, or worse, falling asleep at dinnertime? ?But I wonder if there is anything to be learned from jet lag.? This week as I returned from a trip overseas, I began to realize that I could find some lessons in dealing with jet lag.? I realized that in using the practices I have discovered over the years to counteract jet lag, I could also apply them to some of ways to approach life, whether I am jet lagged or not.
Whether you travel extensively or not, some of the best ways in which to deal with jet lag – especially if you are not using heavy duty drugs to regulate your sleep patterns?- are also really useful ways to deal with our increasingly fast-paced, and often exhausting lives which pull us in so many different directions.
The most basic principle for dealing with jet lag is to set your routine based on the clock where you find yourself, not where you came from.? When it’s time to sleep according to the local clock – do so.? When it’s time to eat – do so.? But it’s not only true about bedtime and mealtime.? In other words, be in the moment. A lesson to take into our non-jet lagged, but still harried lives. Be fully present to where you are, and operate based on that reality, not based on where you were, or where you wish you were.
Make sure that you eat well and allow real time for rest, if you want to acclimate quickly to a new environment.? What is true for crossing time zones, is true in life.? Allowing time and space to care for our physical needs is a crucial part of meeting our spiritual and psychological needs.? It’s sounds obvious, but how often do we push aside the former in the name of addressing the latter?
Life is a series of change and those transitions are complicated. ?We can, however learn big lessons about managing the more subtle ongoing shifts in our lives as well as how we can best manage the more immediate ones.? I still hate jet lag, but at least now I appreciate the wisdom potential of dealing with it as best as I can.

Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”