The Theory of Self Actualization III

The third clause of Hillel's aphorism reads: "If not now, when?" What does this somewhat enigmatic phrase have to do with the struggle of self?

The clause is describing an important step in bringing the process of self-actualization to fruition. It's saying: "Stop procrastinating! If not now, when? If you're not going to develop your self now - if you're not going to make that trip, take that course, meet that person, read that book - when will you? Get moving on it NOW!" Sometimes the very thing that can give us the most satisfaction - the key unlocking the doorway to our selves - is the very thing we deny most. It is the door we most fear opening. So we keep the key far out of sight to prevent it from reminding us that there's even a door to be unlocked. We design our lives and busy ourselves from dawn to dusk with activities that rob us of the time to soberly take up the meaning of life and what we need to do to make it truly meaningful.

Sometimes we're the last to know how great we are, and how much greater we can become. So we procrastinate - even for precisely that which we long for most. And there's nothing we long for more than the expression of our deepest self. That's why Hillel feels it vital to remind us that it's not enough to be aware of the need; we have to act on it. Continually. Relentlessly. Otherwise, what's life for? And if not now, when? (Adapted from "Me, Myself and I: Ethics of the Fathers" by Yaakov Astor and Benyamin ben Esther on Aish.com)