The Hovot HaLevavot has been talking to us about how a person can know what his job and source of living are supposed to be.
He gave us two fundamental principles to go by: Every person is born with
1, our talents and tendencies and 2, our interests. We should use these to follow our inner compass.
He uses a mashal from the animal kingdom to prove it.
He says G-d put into a cat the desire to chase mice, and He gave the cat the proper tools to do so. The cat has the claws, the ability and the know-how. There are certain birds he mentions, that G-d has given the tools to hunt with. Other birds eat fish, and so they are perfectly made do to that. The flamingo, for example, has long thin legs and stands in water. As the fish swim by they don’t realize that those long stalks are actually a predator’s legs. Then the flamingo bends down and grabs the unsuspecting fish with his beak.
Another example from the animal kingdom is mosquitoes. Did you ever wonder how they find us? I recently read an article about how scientists study mosquitoes, by placing tiny helmets on their heads to track their brain activity. It turns out that they have the ability to detect carbon dioxide. So when we sleep at night, they can smell us, the same way we smell apple pie baking in the kitchen.
Each animal has the right tools and desires, placed there naturally by G-d, in order to get the plants or animals that it needs for its sustenance. Whether it’s a long beak, or the right feet, everything is perfectly designed by Hashem. The anteater is another example. It has a very long, sticky tongue, in order to catch ants. It likes ants and has the perfect tool for eating them. If he decided one day, because of an ant shortage, to eat mice, it would be a silly move. He lacks the tools to catch mice and doesn’t even like the taste of them.
G-d gives us, as well, all tools and abilities we need to make a living. Just as G-d cares for animals, He cares for humans- even more so. The Gemara, in the Mishna at the end of Kiddushin asks: Did you ever see a deer open a store, or a lion carrying things? G-d gives them their parnasa- Shouldn’t He give it to me too, they ask.
The only problem is that we sinned, so ours comes with greater difficulty. But we should know that He gave us the tools and tendencies we need nonetheless.
The Mussar of all of this is that we shouldn’t look over our shoulders at others and envy their talents.
A fable is told of two oxen who stood together watching enviously at the majestic sight of eagles gracefully flying overhead. They both admired the beauty and grandeur of the eagles’ flight, and very much wanted to emulate them.
The foolish ox stood at the edge of a mountain, and when it felt a gust of wind, it jumped into the air and attempted to fly. Of course, it quickly came crashing down to the ground.
The wise ox, however, said to itself, “I obviously cannot fly like an eagle. I was not built with this ability. I am not equipped to fly. But I have other talents. I can do things that eagles can’t. I will try to plow the earth as gracefully as the eagle flies.”
The story is told of Rav Wolbe and a student sitting at the beach, watching birds gracefully land. Rav Wolbe told his student, “If you live your life, and do what you’re supposed to do, you’ll be as graceful as those birds. They’re just following the natural tendencies and talents G-d gave them.
So too, we should follow our tendencies and talents, in finding a living, and we should know that they are a G-d-given compass that tell us what to do.