There’s a thought-provoking Jewish story that I have pondered over the last while.
One night the great Rabbi Akiva was walking down the small road to his home. It was late and dark, and the rabbi was pondering Scripture as he walked along.
Focused on the text, he made a wrong turn when he got to a crossing in the road. Instead of turning toward his home, he ended up at a Roman fortress.
As he stood by the gate, the century called out: “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Startled, all the rabbi could answer was, “WHAT?”
The century repeated: “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
This time, Akiva’s voice came back strongly: “How much do you get paid to ask these questions?”
After a shocked pause, the century responded, “Two drachma a week.” (about a day’s wage)
The great rabbi responded: “I’ll pay you double if you come and stand outside my door and ask me those two questions every morning.”
Who are you? What are you doing here?
Life is complex. The complexities bog many of us down. We become focused on the details, trying in vain to find meaning.
It’s a lot more simple than we make it in our heads. Who are you? Not, what is your name? Do you know who you are?
What are you doing here? Are you doing anything? Many times obsessing over the definition of life takes us away from creating value.
What about simply making the world a bit better every day? What about focusing on being a more complete version of yourself each moment?
If you are confident in the answers to these questions, the rest of life will sort itself out.
That’s why the rabbi would have paid the century large amounts of money just to ask him those two questions.
Get back down to the basics: Who are you, and what are you doing here?
Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash