Personal Growth
Passover’s Message to Iran, Hamas and You
5 min read
5 min read
This Passover, break free from the person who enslaves you.
Help! I can't stop thinking about the guy
Yaay! He's gone! He left the country! But he keeps emailing me, inviting me (because I'm his “very close friend”) to visit. He keeps promising that he's coming back. By now, I know better than to get my hopes up. No matter what kinds of “hints” I think he's dropping, we're just friends. Just. Friends. But even if I don't respond to his emails, I can't say I'm not stalking him on Facebook. I can't say I'll just cut him out of my life. I mean, I've known him for years! No need to burn a bridge or act all dramatic. Right? Help!
The Problem:
You try to distract yourself. You hang out with other friends. You go to the gym. Maybe you even go out on a date or two. But you can't stop checking your cell phone. You can't stop thinking about him. Reminders of him are everywhere. The thought of him being with someone else makes you ill. If you run into him (by total coincidence, of course; not because you're stalking him or anything), your pulse races out of control. His doesn't. He just seems glad to see you. Except when he seems as if he couldn't care less. But you're always on good terms. Of course you are! He's your friend! Right?
This is a sadly common phenomenon: women maintaining “friendships” with men who give nothing in return. These are flimsy relationships. They won't nourish you. They won't go anywhere. They don't mean much. They just fill a void.
This void is deep inside all of us. It's our desire to give of ourselves. We were created in the image of the ultimate Giver, and we want to emulate that holy act. That impulse you have to take care of a man who does nothing for you? To buy a dog? To cook for someone? Yup, that's your void. Don't feel bad about it. It comes from a good place.
But now what?
Related Article: What Is Love?
The Solution:
Celebrate the Passover season by breaking free from the person who enslaves you. Remember that when the Jews were leaving Egypt, they yearned to go back. “The fish were superb!” they yelled. Of course, that wasn't true. The Egyptians had thrown scraps of fish to the Jewish slaves, bones and flesh, the inedible leftovers.
Do you really want to settle for scraps?
No. Neither did the Jews. The further they got from Egypt, the more distance they put between themselves and their lives as slaves, the better they felt. Let that be a lesson to you. This Passover, I pray we all get the help we need to leave our personal Egypt.