Live Your Dreams

I hate fear. I hate the way it can take over one's life. Fear is what makes people stay in bad jobs, unhealthy friendships and bad marriages. Fear is what holds people back from taking that leap of faith and leaving the bad job, ending the friendship and leaving the marriage.

When I was planning my Aliyah, I was living in Vancouver, loving my warm, wonderful and close knit religious Jewish community. I was working as a school counselor at a couple of inner city schools and making a very nice and comfortable income. This allowed me to have my own very nice apartment, a new car and a nice savings account. And yet, my heart and soul were deeply yearning for more...

When I first brought up the idea of Aliyah, there were two camps: one camp that said" Wow, way to go, Cigal! You're so brave! Go live your dream!" and the other camp that said" Oh my G-d, Cigal! What are you, NUTS??? Look at you? You have the perfect job, a great apartment, a great community...Why the heck would you give all that up to move to a war zone??" Those naysayers, inevitably, instilled a sense of fear and doubt in me..."What if Israel really is nothing but a pipe dream? What if I go there and I don't find work? What if I struggle to find a community? What if I don't meet anyone I can build my life with?..."

"NO. I'm not gonna listen to them. I know that I have to do it. Israel is where I belong."
I remember repeating that phrase OVER and OVER again for months, like a mantra, until I got on that Nefesh B'Nefesh flight and stepped off the stairs onto the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport. It was when my two feet touched the ground here that I was overcome by a tremendous sense of calm. I DID IT. I ignored the naysayers. I got inspired and fueled by my supporters and here I was, about to live my dream.

In my seven years here, I have done and accomplished so much more than I and my naysayers could ever have dreamed of. I try to imagine what would have happened had I listened to them and allowed fear to take over me...Hubby and I would still be walking around aimlessly, searching for each other...Our precious little jewels would still be waiting for their missions here on Earth...And I would probably still be in Vancouver, living a good life instead of in Israel, living an extraordinary one...

My dear readers, don't let fear trap you in a place where you'll never be able to spread your wings and fly. Never listen to the naysayers in your life who try talking you out of the voices in your heart and your soul that tell you that you want and need more.You deserve to live your dreams.

With Love,
Cigal