Have All Your Planes Landed?

I heard a wonderful metaphor this week that helped me better understand the things that can paralyze our lives.

We spend our days—the metaphor says—as air traffic controllers landing planes. These planes represent our daily to-do lists. Some planes are more difficult to land than others, but we’re confident we can land them all.

There are other planes, however, that are always circling and never seem to land. Some have been circling for years, others for a few days. Because our whole purpose is to land planes, any plane that doesn’t land becomes a source of anxiety. We’re always aware that those “circling planes” are on our radar screens, even when we look away to focus on the “easy” ones.

This metaphor connects perfectly to this time of year, when we have an opportunity to renew ourselves and start a new slate. Simchat Torah, which begins Saturday night, is our annual transition moment when we read the last words of the Torah as well as the first, as we begin a new cycle.

This is the “last call” of the Holiday season to look for the planes that haven’t landed and are weighing on us. Is there someone we need to forgive? Is there a dark memory we need to shed? Is there an unresolved issue we need to address? Is there a word of kindness we need to offer?

The more of those circling planes we can land, the better we will start the new year, the healthier our emotional lives will be.

The turmoil of 2020 has already burdened us with circling planes we cannot control. As we begin a new Jewish calendar, may we all have the courage and wisdom to land the planes we can control.

Chag sameach and Shabbat shalom.