Do you ever find yourself caught in a vortex of app notifications on your phone where an unending barrage of beeps, pings and flashing numbers are coming at you from all sides? Have you ever felt like your 'to do' list is as overwhelming as the tens of tabs open on your computer, leaving you to wonder: Where do I even begin?
A lot of this common chaos is part of everyday reality for millions of people living in today's overloaded, high-tech world.
When the Jewish people needed to advance from the watershed ‘splitting of the sea’ event, they lingered around, to the extent that Moses literally had to force them to leave in order to advance to Mt. Sinai. But why? Were the Jewish people acting like children on 'slow mo' who refuse to rush to get to school on time? Obviously there was something deeper at play. In truth, they hung around because they felt they still had 'unfinished spiritual business' at the sea. Their picking up as many Egyptian washed-up treasures as possible, was part of their G-d given mission and destiny.
The Jews were so invested in the moment, leaving no diamond unturned, that they had to be 'forced' away, in order to move towards their next great mission at Sinai.
We all find ourselves bombarded with a million things calling for our attention, constantly. As tempting as it may be to try to do a little-bit-of-everything at the same time, we can learn from our ancestors the value of being fully immersed and present, as we invest ourselves totally into one task or encounter at a time.
When we approach the task at hand, or the person before us, as a Divine given mission, deserving of our complete and undivided attention, we begin to experience sea-splitting revelations, each step of the way.