Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 238

How Should We Relate to the Various States?

First, we accept the state that comes, observe it, and want to examine it within ourselves, without judging whether it has done us good or bad. We examine it from within the recognition that everything the Creator does, He does for good. We give it a place from the knowledge that it has come to correct us, even if it is so difficult that “a sharp sword rests upon my neck.” We must not despair or drown in self-pity. Everything is a correction.

Naturally, it is not always easy to accept states in such a way. But after we have related to them in this manner once, there will be moments when we feel incapable, filled with resistance and a desire for destruction, and then, upon second thought, we will begin to relate to the state correctly. The resistance will disappear the moment we remember that the state is intended to correct us, and from there we must move on to the third state, “There is none else besides Him.” From within that state, through the sorrow and pain, we will begin to discover “There is none else besides Him,” and will immediately arrive at sweetness, i.e., at the sweetening of the judgments.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 237
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 236
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 235

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