It tells us in the portion Vayishlach that Jacob was alone when the angel came to fight with him. And it says the reason that Jacob was all alone is because he forgot a few pots and pans on the other side of the river after moving his family and possessions, and was going by himself, at night, to retrieve them. But Jacob was a wealthy man, so why was it so important for him to retrieve a few pots and pans, when he could easily replace them?
"Everything our life encompasses right now is exactly and perfectly all that we need."
The secret, the understanding, that we want to learn from this is that there are sets of facts which make up our lives at any given moment in time, and those facts, or different pieces of our lives, are exactly what we need; these perfect pieces are self-contained and need not be influenced by outside sources. Unfortunately, what often happens when we think about spiritual growth, actions, or manifesting anything important, is that often we think, “If only I had that thing, or that ability, then I could actually do something, then I could actually manifest something, then I could grow… but I don’t have these external things in my current situation, so I can’t.” But what we’re learning here is that everything our life encompasses right now - from what we see as positive to what we see as challenges – is exactly and perfectly all that we need.
Our life, as it forms in each moment with all its elements, physically and spiritually, is perfect for what we need to do, as opposed to what we often think, which is that we need something external to happen to us in order for us to change, grow, or manifest. But that’s not true, because everything that exists right now in our life is the perfect combination of all things physical and spiritual in order for us to be able to accomplish and manifest what we are meant to.
"Understanding the perfection of our lives in each moment, helps us get rid of all excuses."
When we understand this, we come to understand why it was so important for Jacob not to lose anything, because those pots and pans were part of the setup of his life. There were sparks and Light in them that he needed to maintain in order to do what he needed to do. And the same is true of the pieces of my life, your life, and everyone’s life, right now; the parts, as they exist, are exactly what we need. And when we make excuses, saying that we need (or don’t need) something external in order to manifest, change, or grow, then we’re saying the package isn’t perfect; but in order for us to be able to manifest and grow, both physically and spiritually, we can no longer give ourselves those excuses.
On Shabbat Vayishlach, I hope we all can grow from this consciousness that our lives, in each exact moment, are made up of all the perfect pieces that we need in order to do what we have to do. And when we understand and have certainty in the perfection of the package of our life exactly as it is in each moment, then the excuses, hopefully, begin to go away. All the pieces in our lives - the positive and the negative- are aligned exactly in order for us to accomplish and manifest; it’s all right here, right now, in a perfect package giving us everything that we need.
