How many opportunities do we lose out on, and how much time do we waste worrying about where we aren’t, instead of genuinely appreciating where we are?? How much energy do we expend agonizing over who we aren’t, as opposed to celebrating who we are?
None of us is perfect, and I believe that striving to be more and to be better is a crucially important part of a well-lived life.? So too is feeling the rich possibility and potential of who we are, as we are, wherever we are.?? In fact, it’s every bit as important as the striving stuff, and I think I have it down to feeling the power of 3 simple words:? standing your ground.
What does it mean to “stand your ground”?? Of course, we have laws which understand the term as granting permission to use violence when one feels even a relatively low level of threat.? Not a big fan.? We have politicians who invoke the term, from both the left and the right, to help assure people’s commitment to various ideological doctrines.? Not a big fan of them either.
In fact, to stand your ground is almost always seen as a defensive posture, but it could be something far greater.
Try imagining that the ground on which you stand, physically or ideologically, is not simply something to be defended, but something to be celebrated.
Try imagining that the ground on which you stand is actually a wonderful place to be, without any sense that someplace else is either better or worse.
Of course, some places and some ideas are better or worse than others.? But before we look longingly or disparagingly at other places and ideas, perhaps we could learn to trust the value of who we are, and where we find ourselves, not simply because it is superior to where others are, but because it is where we are.?? That too is a form of standing your ground.
Ironically, it may be that the better we are at accepting that the ground on which we stand is really okay, the better we will be at pursuing other grounds upon which we hope to stand.? Surely, the feeling that we are more capable and secure than we may often give ourselves credit for, can help open us to taking the chances and making the leaps we dream of to improve our lives in whatever ways we hope to.
So yeah, stand your ground.? Stand fully where you are, as you are, and embrace the dual possibility that it is precisely where you belong at this moment, and that in being there, you are well-positioned to go wherever you next want to go.
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.”