Getting Out of the “Stuck” State

A mime walks onto a stage and starts pushing against an invisible wall. He presses harder and harder, trying to get out of the box he’s trapped in. The audience laughs. Why? Because everyone watching knows something the mime seems to forget: the wall isn’t real.

In many ways we do the same thing in our lives.

The Nesivos Shalom explains that a Jew is never truly stuck. There is always an inner point of the soul, that remains connected to Hashem and capable of renewal.

However it’s up to us to create that opening.

פתחו לי פתח כחודו של מחט ואני אפתח לכם פתח כפתחו של אולם

“Open for Me an opening like the eye of a needle, and I will open for you an opening like the entrance of a hall.” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 5:3)

You don’t have to solve your whole life. You only have to make a small opening.

One step. One conversation. One action that moves things slightly forward.

Once someone starts moving again, the sense of being trapped slowly begins to weaken.

Very often the wall turns out to be more like the mime’s wall.

If you have been feeling stuck lately, don’t try to break the entire box. Just take one small step forward.