Joy and More Joy

 There are always many ways to view our life, our present and past.  We can look at it from the angle that we are rich and amply blessed.  More than any time in history we have more than enough food, we are protected by police and armed forces, we have devices that save time, and so much more.  The same person can look at their life and complain that they do not have more of what other people have.  Another person in the same position, may walk about in a depression because their children have not done well or that people are cruel.

While our faith offers many great gifts, one of them is getting used to making daily statements of appreciation for things we may otherwise take for granted.  Take for example, the early morning blessings which express gratitude for eyesight, legs, working arms and a body that can rid itself of toxins.  We are told to begin each day by reciting a series of berachot which acknowledge what is not wrong along with what is right.

A while back reporters asked Jerry Lewis why he was perpetually clowning around whether he was on or off the stage.  He was asked, “You are always ‘on.’  Why?  Don’t you ever get tried of being comical?  Why are you never just a person off stage?”

He replied, “Because my parents were show people and they wanted me to be a star.  I tried, how I tried, but they were never satisfied.  They always expected more and more.  They were never satisfied.  So to this day I must keep trying.”

There are two ways of viewing Lewis’ statement.  One is that he lives forever in the shadow of his oppressive parents who made him so relentless.  How sad!  He can never be free from their oppressive expectations.  The other way to look at it is Lewis’ parents made him into the star that outshone their lights and made him one of the most famous comedians of all time.

The Baal Shem Tov once said, “There is no accident in the world.”  What the Baal Shem did not mean was that only good things happen to us.   He was no Pollyanna!  What the Baal Shem did mean is that we always have a choice about how we interpret life’s stumbling blocks as well as blessings.  We choose whether we will be a victim or learn from every experience.

Life is not easy but it need not be a misery either.  Our Sages, of blessed memory, teach that one of the purposes of life is to grow, to learn.  Every day we are to told to exact lessons from life and add them to our storehouse of knowledge that makes us better people.  That takes effort.  

Learning from life’s events does not always come naturally, without intention.  Yet with a mindful set to begin the day with words of appreciation and a desire to grow, perhaps we can achieve what we deserve: joy.