Stumbling Blocks
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

November 15, 2017, Israel

There is nothing like walking along peaceful, nice easy stride, enjoying the day, enjoying the walk and then suddenly you will yourself flying out of control and looking like the most awkward klutz in the world. You just hit a stumbling block, an uneven stone in the pavement, the result of someone else's shabby work. Your rhythm has been broken.

But that is how life is.

You plan the perfect vacation, arrange the flights, the hotels, everything down to the last detail and then something goes wrong. We learn that no matter what we do we do not, we cannot, have complete control over our fate. We cannot control all the forces of the universe. Things happen; unexpected stumbling blocks.

All we can do is get up, brush ourselves off, try to learn a lesson or two and move on.

Flashback, 1980's, sitting with one of the greatest men I have ever met, a man who could make dreams come true, a true visionary. I was sitting with him in his office in Jerusalem as he was completing a phone call. I heard the words, Agmas nefesh, Hebrew/Yiddish for "Total aggravation". Yes, it happens, even to the most positive and upbeat people.

Experiencing these stumbling blocks is not unique to "negative people", it happens to all of us, sooner or later. We fall down, we get up, we brush off the dust and we move forward and mutter agmas nefesh, the soul can be troubled, it happens.

But the soul is strong, stronger than the body, we get up, we brush it off, we put on our best suit, and we march forward to another day.

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.