Like a Dog on a Leash

Question: We work with egoism on the human level but how should we relate to desires on the still, vegetative, and animate levels?

Dr. Laitman's Answer: By the principle of vital necessity. Take only as much as you need. Everything else only bothers you. It is written, "The more property you have, the more worries you have." If you are thinking about the human level, then on the rest of the levels you only have enough energy left for the vital necessities.

For example, some people keep a dog at home. The dog barks loudly in the morning, demanding to be taken out for a walk. The two of them walk together, the master and the dog on a leash. I walk with my "dog" inside, while his dog is outside.

Indeed, this "animal" needs to be taken care of. I feed it, walk it, wash it, put it to sleep, and do everything necessary so it would let me work spiritually.

This healthy attitude makes life much easier. You have to put your material existence into simple, "mechanical" boundaries, subjecting it to the needs of the system like cogwheels in the mechanism of a watch. I have to get along with everyone and maintain a certain material balance in my family, at work, and so on, while devoting the bulk of my energy to the thing that matters most.

From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 01/10/11, Writings of Rabash