Food for Thought — I Have Been Waiting…Sunday reflections. By Dutch Rojas (03/22/26)

dutchrojas.substack.com…

This is a wonderful essay by Dutch Rojas. Everything he says about himself matches us too. We need to change! NOW before it's too late. Will we? We don't know. But we’ll try.

Please read the full essay, then share his post. (Or just restack this note 😊.)

Rojas begins…

I have been waiting most of my adult life.

Not passively. I am not a passive man. But underneath the work, the building, the momentum, there has always been a quiet assumption that the good feeling was just ahead. One more milestone. One more stabilized season. One more thing handled.

I picked up Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s work recently and it stopped me cold. Not because it was complicated. Because it wasn’t. Because somewhere in the first few pages I recognized that the thing I have been chasing is not a destination. It is a practice. And I have been avoiding the practice by chasing the destination.

and continues…

I have a good life that I regularly fail to feel.

This is the one that convicted me most.

Habituation. We stop seeing what we have. The people who matter most to us become background. The health, the provision, the relationships we prayed for become invisible through familiarity. And then we wonder why we feel empty.

I walked into my house last week after a hard day and my youngest ran at me from across the room. Full speed. Arms out. Like I was the best thing that had happened to her all day.

I almost missed it. I was still in my head about something that, two days later, I cannot even fully recall.

Be sure to read the entire article! (Summary follows, but it’s dry and boring.)

ED NOTE
We remember our own Dad returning home from a job he may not have liked much selling real estate and managing property. 

But we didn't care what he did at work that day. We were delighted he was home. We also ran at him, arms outstretched, to give him a giant hug while yelling "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" 

We remember those days with gratitude for HIS presence in our lives, gratitude that remains long after he passed away.

Summary (ai, assisted, edited; images from article)

Dutch Rojas waited years for happiness after milestones, realizing he was avoiding being present. Drawing from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s work, he states suffering comes mostly from self-told stories, not events.

Core Teachings & Insights

• Suffering stems from narratives, not circumstances.

• Difficult seasons can be reframed as tests, not judgments.

• Habituation blinds people to existing blessings.

• Gratitude is a choice, not a feeling.

• Worth is inherent, not earned through output.

• Children live fully present, showing unconditional joy.

• Ordinary presence with family outweighs unfinished work.

• Happiness requires gratitude, presence, fixed identity, and better stories.

• The awaited fulfilling life is already here.

Reference

• Grokipedia Zelig Pliskin: