This week’s parshah, Vayeshev, is like a blueprint for understanding the way the world works. Life is not simple. It always has challenges, in one way or another. When we see that Joseph is treated cruelly by his brothers, we can relate to the times where life has challenged us. But these challenges are not meant to pull us down—they’re meant to expand our awareness as we overcome them.

As we read about the gradual process of Joseph’s journey, we can see him learning how to respond to his difficulties with patience and understanding. Wherever he is placed is what he has to deal with at that moment, for that period of time. His story teaches us to recognize that as we go through each day’s experience we are building more understanding of our own life’s work. We might think we’re deciding for ourselves how we will express who we are, but this always depends on which opportunities are available at every stage in our life.

No one decides where they’re born or which family they’re born into. Then the opportunities within each country vary depending on the political climate in that country. If we’ve been discriminated against, we have to overcome more challenges than if we’re allowed to develop naturally, in a safe political environment.

Once we realize that this creation of the world is something that we have to learn to relate to, we can respond more readily to whatever is placed in our path. When we understand that we can develop a sense of inner strength, by patiently listening from within, we can deal with challenges in our life much more easily.

The Torah is giving us a route, a path, into a more direct awareness of the structure of our consciousness, so that we can confront our challenges from a clearer recognition of why each difficulty has shown up in our lives.

When we’re ready to delve into the psychological insights that the Torah gives us, on a very subtle level, we can gradually develop a more profound awareness of what we need to do in each situation. Then we’ll be able to realize that we all live within an amazing matrix that is always ready to help us travel through any challenges in our life.