Life is What Happens Along the Way:Marc Gafni

A good friend of several years back shared with me a story about his autistic son. As Brad explained, what autism means is that there is too much information pouring in and not enough sensory capacity to filter out the excess.

This creates an overload which can sometimes shut a person down. One day, he and his son were walking to the synagogue where Brad was a Rabbi. His son was fully uninterested in getting to their destination, but was exceedingly interested in checking out every stimulating sight, sound, and smell along the way. Finally, two hours after they set out on their minute walk, they arrive at their destination. Brad was exasperated yet elated at having finally gotten there. His son was deflated because the fabulous journey was over. It was on that morning, looking deeply into his son’s face that Brad realized, “Life is what happens along the way.”

In fact, in Hebrew myth mysticism, the law is called Halacha. Literally, that means “the way” or the Tao. It is for this reason that spiritual disciplines all talk about the path. No path really gets you there because there is here. The important thing is whether the path has heart. Is it a path of love? If, along the way, you grow, your being expands, your caring and loving deepen, your appreciation widens and increases, then it is a path with heart. You are on the lover’s journey.

marc gafni
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