Star light, star bright

One night I woke up and glanced at the clock. It read 4-something AM. My first thought was what woke me up in the middle of the night? And then I realized something was wrong. I could see the clock. I could read the numbers. It took awhile until my foggy brain cleared, and then I noticed my eyes were dry. I had forgotten to take out my contact lenses before I went to sleep.

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning, after I shut off my alarm, is to grope blindly for my glasses. Before I put them on, everything is blurry. If I ever have to use the bathroom in middle of the night I usually dont bother to put on my glasses, since I only keep one eye open in the hopes of not actually waking up.

I never really think about it because that is my reality. My world is naturally blurry, unclear. Without my glasses I see shapes and colors, but nothing really makes sense to me. Wearing contact lenses is the closes I will get to having the feeling of normal sight. But every night I have to take them out of my eyes. And once again the world is blurry.

Everyone needs a pair of glasses. Eyes to look through and see the world clearly, as it should be. Without it all we see are vague shapes and outlines. Without it we have no direction, we are lost.

For some people this is their parents, or a teacher, or a rabbi. As a Lubavitcher I turn to the Rebbe for guidance, and my mashpia. Sometimes my parents.

Sometimes when something is unclear for you it is time for a second opinion. A different perspective. You need someone who will be your glasses, who will guide you in what to do and show you what you cannot see.

A joke:

Through the pitch-black night, the captain sees a light dead ahead on a collision course with his ship. He sends a signal: "Change your course 10 degrees east."
The light signals back: "Change yours, 10 degrees west."
Angry, the captain sends: "I'm a navy captain! Change your course, sir!"
"I'm a seaman, second class," comes the reply. "Change your course, sir."
Now the captain is furious. "I'm a battleship! I'm not changing course!"
There's one last reply. "I'm a lighthouse. Your call."

Sometimes we need that light to show us the way. The constant, the one that never moves, never falters. The one that keeps us on course.

Every once in awhile it is good to take stock of our lives and say where am I headed? Am I going in the direction I should be? How do I intend to get there? What tools along the way will help me to my destination, my goal? What is my goal?

Of course it helps to put on our glasses, look at our lives from a different perspective.

And know that if you are ever lost there will always be a light to guide you back home.