Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Learning to Walk Tall
Some years ago, I went to a chiropractor who told me I was slouching forward. I don’t mean when I was just relaxed, but all the time. He compared our heads and spines to bowling balls on broomsticks. If not balanced right, the ball will tip everything over. He said that’s what was happening to me. My head was leaning forward, causing my back to curve. Thankfully, when this happened, there was still time to adjust it.
I changed my sitting posture in the car, and began to mindfully walk more upright. The situation began reversing itself and I now stand straighter than before. Better than that, the forward progression of my spine has stopped and I’m not stooping. While there are times I forget, I’m usually pretty good about reminding myself. And sometimes I have help.
When I’m walking and see someone hunched over or stooping, it frightens me. I don’t want that to be me, so I will make sure I’m walking more uprightly. I think about this often when I say the morning bracha of “zokeif kefufim, Who straightens out the crooked.” I want to be healthy, so I straighten myself up.
An Example Worth Following
Another time I do this is when I see someone else walking with an upright posture. I have a neighbor who walks VERY straight. When I saw him walking past my house one Shabbos, I immediately straightened up. What’s funny about this, is that he doesn’t just walk straight. It seems to me that just about everything he does is with a sense of uprightness. He isn’t a guy who plays games in business, and when he gives his word, he means it.
I don’t want to wax eloquent about his virtues, because I’m sure he might guess who I’m talking about, but the concept is a great transition from the beginning of this column. As I said, when I see something, I take it to heart. If I see someone stooping, I straighten up so I’m not going to end up like them. If I see someone standing ramrod straight, I also straighten up, because I see that they’re doing it right.
More Than Physical Posture
The same goes for people’s behavior, not just their posture, and we have to ask ourselves how we respond to it. When we see people stooping to conduct that should really be beneath them, saying or doing things that are not exactly just and upright, what is our reaction? Do we recoil in fear that we might end up like that, crippled and scarred for life, and therefore choose to straighten up and ensure we don’t do things like that? That would be a great response, and the right one, in my humble opinion.
The Danger of Comparing Downward
If, however, when we see people bending the rules, we pat ourselves on the back, thinking how wonderful we are because we don’t do the same things, I think we’re missing the boat. To pat yourself on the back means twisting your body into a strange position, and it works the same way figuratively as it does literally. If comparing yourself to people who do bad doesn’t scare you into being better, then you probably could stand to work on your self-improvement.
The same thing goes for someone who is extremely upright. If, when you look at him, you imagine he’s over-the-top, a machmir worry-wort, or goody-two-shoes, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Your mental posture is crooked and you don’t even realize it.
Keep Yourself in Alignment
Like the bowling ball on the broomstick, the further away from straight your head is, the more it succumbs to gravity and pulls the body down with it. If your behavior is less than stellar, the longer this goes on unchecked, the more likely you are to sink lower and lower. At a certain point, it will be almost impossible to correct the curvature, and you’ll be stuck like that, an object of pity to those who understand the matter.
Walk Tall
So, the next time you see someone hunched over, unable to lift their head, neck, or shoulders, stop and think about how you will react. It should make you scared straight, and teach you to walk tall with your head upright. But don’t stop at the physical manifestation. Think about whether all your actions are just and upright, or if maybe you’ve stooped to some pretty awful lows, or even if you’re just a tad out of alignment. Try to surround yourself with people whose deeds are straight, and learn from them how to carry yourself. When you can look in the mirror and smile, seeing yourself for what you are, and knowing you’re remaining upright, then you can be proud of fixing your flaws, and you have even more reason to hold your head up high.
By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
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