We all need a sense of wonder and mystery in our lives. Sometimes a fast paced adventure movie or a good mystery read will satisfy that urge inside of ourselves. But sometimes we need to reach into the past and see that all through the centuries people have reported strange phenomenon, and of course, even miracles. Even dire predictions have not always come true! Stories from the past where people overcame negative predictions, whether by what appeared to be a miracle or by sheer will, can revitalize us and give us hope. And that is so important. Every day we need to get our energies going again so that we have the motivation to make the best of ourselves and our day. Every day we need at least a small dose of inspiration. Here is yours for today! This dose of inspiration appears in my book, Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!
Rabbi Akiva lived during the 12th century and was considered one of the great scholars and leaders in Judaism. He had a daughter, and on the day she was born, a soothsayer told him that she would die on her wedding day, bitten on the arm by a poisonous snake. This is as tragic a fate as anyone can imagine – raising a daughter while worrying that you will lose her on what should be the most beautiful day of her life.
Rabbi Akiva decided not to believe the soothsayer, although he certainly thought about what she had said. But he trusted God, so he proceeded to make arrangements for his daughter's wedding. A proper suitor was found, and the wedding day soon arrived.
The daughter knew nothing of the strange prophecy, but she did have a terrible headache that day. Finally, unable to bear the headdress she was wearing, she took it off and absently stuck the large hatpin that held it into the edge of a curtain in her bedroom. Immediately, shaking and hissing sounds seemed to emanate from behind the curtain, but the daughter had already left the room.
The marriage ceremony took place as scheduled, followed by a daylong celebration and feast – and, indeed, to Rabbi Akiva's great relief, his daughter remained alive and well. The next day, the daughter remembered the hatpin and sent a servant to retrieve it from the curtain. As he wrenched it free, to his amazement, the servant heard a loud thud, as if something had fallen to the floor. Upon investigation, he discovered a poisonous dead snake on the floor behind the curtain. It bore a fatal wound along its side, apparently from being stabbed by the daughter’s hatpin.
How Can You Relate To This Story?
I remember when my ballet teacher predicted to my mother that I would be too tall to become a professional dancer. Her prediction crushed my dreams in an instant. Now I would never become a professional dancer. I put aside my toe shoes and stifled my dreams. How ironic, given the fact that by the time I was an adult, many professional dancers were my height of 5' 8" or even taller.
Can you think of a time when a prediction got you in trouble? (Perhaps you became frightened or gave up on something?)
Did you ever feel you had been protected, or saved from harm, as Rabbi Akiva's daughter was from a disaster? Tell the story.
Have you ever been able to override a prediction given to you, by sheer will, prayer, or belief in yourself? Tell the story. Come to www.enchantedself.com/blog and tell your story or write to me at drbarbara@enchantedself.com
Dr. Holstein is the originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF(R) and a positive psychologist in private practice since 1981. She is the author of The Enchanted Self, A Positive Therapy, Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, Delight, and now The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything).
Dr. Holstein speaks on radio, and appears on television in NY and NJ. Her website is www.enchantedself.com . She gives lectures, seminars, teleclasses and her quotes appear often in national magazines. She has a weekly radio show on www.internetvoicesradio.com , Kids, Tweens and Teens, A Positive Psychologist Looks at All Three. She is the official guide for positive psychology on www.selfgrowth.com
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Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, the Official Guide To Positive Psychology