I recently saw an interview where the interviewer aggressively asked the Israeli official how the Jews can build in settlements when the WHOLE WORLD says that they may not do so?
My blood boiled.
The WHOLE WORLD [virtually] was silent when they were throwing Jewish children into ovens and gassing them alive. So the WHOLE WORLD can find a short pier and take a long walk. THEY are going to tell us what we are allowed to do and not do?? And in our own country. We are the ONLY governing authority in the world who is told by the rest of the world that we are not allowed to build homes for our residents on OUR property given as a gift by G-d and later earned with a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
Insane.
From the national to the personal....
Never blindly follow anybody who tells you what to do*. They often have their own agenda. It is your life. If they don't like it, they can find some hiking shoes and do what people do when they are wearing hiking shoes. Of course it is very wise to listen to the counsel of people with life experience and who are more objective than you about your situation but ultimately it is your life. And beware of people who are not only looking out for your best interests.
My life experience has taught me [and this is just my experience] that the ONLY ONE who really has one hundred percent my best interests in mind with no other conflicting concerns is ..... HASHEM. So I try to stick with Him. His opinion is the only one that matters. Everybody else is here today, gone tomorrow. [So many men have that issue with their receding hairline. "Hair today, gone tomorrow"]. Everybody else has a load of their own personal concerns that have nothing to do with me. Everybody else has biases in many different directions. Everybody else has had different life experiences and a different emotional and spiritual makeup which make my personal world inaccessible to them [and vice versa]. When I have problems, they don't lose sleep over them, only I do [not that I should. The secret is B.M. Not "Beis Medrash" (even though that is the BEST) but Bitachon and Melatonin:-)].
So as a nation we want to bring light to the world but when they tell us what to do when it is none of their business - they can go fly a kite [or find a short pier or hiking shoes]. As individuals we strive to love every person, and to even exhibit this love in a very concrete way, but when people come and tell us what to do - we remember that we only have to answer to Hashem. We will be spending the REST OF ETERNITY with Him and He is all that matters.
* I am not referring here to parents. That is a thorny issue and depends on many factors.
