Chag sameach! It’s that time of year when I reflect on the past and plan the new year. Most years I reflexively wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year without even thinking. Health and happiness are easy things to wish my friends. They are the table stakes. Then we all look past them, privately wishing for bigger and better things. We look forward to the next family vacation or seeing a great broadway show. But this year is different. Many of the big things are impossible with the coronavirus and achieving the small things like finding happiness are a real challenge. This year I’ve learned that God can help me to find the great joys in the little things in life.
Most mornings I’ve been taking pictures of the world. I open myself up to seeing the beauty in the world and letting God inspire me. Walking down the street there’s an awesome array of beauty that I normally skip by. When I’m open to it, I can see this beauty in the world, and see God in these little moments of life. Working from home for the last 18 months, I’ve been able to bring a small bit of the splendor of the outside world into my virtual office by taking pictures and posting them as my Zoom background. I have a gallery of virtual backgrounds for you to view/borrow from.
I’ve been able to learn some powerful lessons by using these backgrounds at work. One day I posted the following background:
One of my friends said, “I love it because of the weed!”
“What weed?” I said, with supreme horticultural ignorance.
“There’s a weed right in the middle of the picture. It’s amazing because the imperfection of the weed makes the rest of the picture more beautiful because it makes the whole thing more real.”
I’m also thinking about how important my family is. I used to walk back from Temple during the High Holidays with my Zaid (Yiddish for grandfather). He would tell me stories about his life like how he and cousin Judy would make forts out of old beer crates during the Great Depression and how he would pump music into his dairy farm to try to boost milk production. I always thought of my Zaid as being a very religious man. He went to Temple frequently and kept kosher. I thought he brought the family together on the High Holidays to make us better Jews. But he told me the opposite was true. He wanted to use Judaism to strengthen our family. He told me, “The Jewish Holidays are a reason for all of us to get together. It’s about strengthening our connections to one another by bringing the family together, sharing a meal, and sharing in these traditions.” This year I was able to capture the joy of having a family meal with a portion of my extended family, even though we couldn’t get everyone together.
The High Holidays are an annual shock to my system. It takes me out of the mindset of wanting more and focusing on the things that are most important. I remember the traditions of Judaism have powerful lessons I need to pass on to my children.
So I wish you all, honestly, a healthy and happy year, at least as much as you can make of one. Make sure to look for the little miracles that God is giving all of us to make these difficult times a bit easier. Try to look around and maybe you can be inspired by the little things in life each day.
Shana Tova,
Rob
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