Welcome to Let It Be Easy with Susie Moore.

I have a funny and profound story for you today.

In fact, I first heard this story.

It was either on the podcast of or in a book of The Incredible

Rob Bell, who has been a guest on the Let It Be Easy podcast. And if you haven't listened to

his interview, I absolutely would. The way that he thinks, the way that, the lens with which he looks at the world

is fascinating to me. And I love the stories that he shares. So I'm going to share one of those

with you today. It's called the Akiva story, which is a profound and mystical story. From my understanding, it's from

Jewish tradition. It's a telling of a short scene which cuts deep. It's funny, yet it also

cuts deep. Okay? The story of Rabbi Ekeva and the guard. One early morning,

Rabbi Ekeva was walking near a Roman fortress deep in thought, contemplating life and Torah.

As he passed close to the gates, a Roman soldier standing guard

shouted down to him. Who are you? And what are you doing here? Rabbi Akiva looked up,

startled, but intrigued. He said, could you please repeat those

questions? The guard shouted once again, who are you? And what are you doing here? Instead of

answering the question, he responded with a question of his own.

How much are you paid to stand there and ask those questions?

The guard answered, a few drachmas a day.

Rabbi Akiva replied, I will pay you double to stand outside my house and ask me those same two questions every single morning. Who are you, my friend? And what are you doing here? And the practical we know

what a God means. But what about in the spiritual? This is how we understand our power.

What if we asked ourselves these two questions daily?

It takes us out of autopilot with living and into the purpose of our lives. These two simple questions, they force our reflection.

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