"Abraham was old, come along in days"—Genesis 24:1.
This week's Torah reading describes Abraham as being "old, come along in days." What is the difference between the two? If one has already been told that Abraham was old, why is it necessary to add that he also lived many days?
The answer is that to be "old" means to have lived a long time, but says nothing about how one spent his time. To "come along in days" describes the manner in which a person's life was lived. Abraham did not merely pass through life, racking up the years. His years were made up of much smaller units of time—days. He lived with the knowledge that there will never again be a time like this time right now. He had a sensitivity to the significance of each moment, and succeeded in actualizing whatever unique opportunities presented themselves. If I live my life right, then I am not just "x" amount of years old. I am the product of days, hours and minutes lived to their fullest G‑dly potential.
Even the smallest unit of time is a distinct creation never to be replicated againThere are some who push through life just trying to get from one day to the next. There are others who say that every moment is to be savored, not just endured. Abraham's attitude surpassed both of these. He saw every moment as something to be put to use. Even the smallest unit of time is a distinct creation never to be replicated again. Today's work is not tomorrow's. The call of the hour is not that of the next.
When those of us in recovery speak about taking sobriety "one-day-at-a-time," we don't just mean breaking up time into manageable chunks. We mean that to stay sober, we need to stay in the moment. We have to be in the now; we need to know that we were brought to this place and time at this very second to serve a purpose and be of use to our fellow and our Creator. We need to be aware that we are being given a gift that will never be precisely replicated.
When we were drinking or drugging, the past dogged us with remorse and resentment; the future loomed before us with fear and dread. The present was barely tolerated or frittered away with procrastination. As sober people in recovery, we still have difficulty relating to time. But sober living, and the kind of spiritual awareness that it demands from us, have helped us to learn how to look with keen eyes at the opportunities for service brought by each moment.
Whereas aging takes no special effort or insight, truly living means to "come along" in days, hours, minutes and seconds—all put to good use in our service to man and G‑d.
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