Opportunity.
"I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one." - Mark Twain
Opportunities come and go - quickly. You either capitalize on them or they slip past.
Taking
advantage of opportunities demands alacrity and vigilance. It demands
keeping your eyes open. It demands being alert and perhaps most of all
being prepared to capitalize when they do come your way.
This past Sunday, I went shopping with my wife for diapers. It was
an eye opening experience. I found two rather surprising things.
(1)
There were two of the exact same pair of diapers for the exact same
price. However, One packet had 94 diapers and the other had 98. 94
diapers = 150 R. 98 diapers = 150R. Go figure!
(2) The same exact diapers one of them said "Jumbo pack" and had
coins on it, giving the impression that they were cheaper. The other
one was a regular pack, turns out that the "Jumbo pack" is 15% more
expensive than the regular one.
All of this on the exact same shelf. Vigilant people surely would have taken the opportunity to buy the cheaper ones.
In
this weeks Parsha, the Jewish people took advantage of the desert
fundraising event, they gave money very quickly. They gave the money
so quickly that the leaders who were watching in, didn't have anything
left to give. They didn't take advantage of the opportunity.
When a Mitzva comes your way, don't pass up the opportunity.
Keep your eyes open for the next opportunity to do something good.
