We couldn’t wait for those lazy hazy days of summer. This past winter was not what we expected when we moved to a more “Southern climate” and found ourselves freezing and slipping. We missed John Polisena more than he will ever know–he was our all season gardener and snow shoveler. Fortunately for us we had fantastic grandsons who always showed up when least expected to shovel our driveway. Suddenly the talk is about back to school, chagim, boys and girls leaving for their year in Israel and every brochure we receive in the newspaper (and there are many) have nothing but back to school everything.
Where has the time flown by? Are we ready to face another Fall and Winter where the days become shorter and shorter and daylight disappears at 4PM in the afternoon? One of us, the female partner in this duo finds it depressing and the male partner as usual is happy and grateful about everything.
What happens is that we seem to live our lives looking ahead to specific occasions. A wedding is coming up–all attention will be on the details of that occasion months away, a birth is imminent we are waiting for the expected event with great excitement, a graduation, sometimes a deadline before a major health crisis, a deadline in the office. Somehow in the in between we let the hours and days just roll past us.
There is still another month before the yom tovim begin. Let’s take advantage of the days leading up to them. Let’s concentrate on the seriousness of this time of year and in the gloriousness of being alive and watching the sun come out each day. How many of us while scurrying around actually notice the beauty of the trees and flowers as we walk through the streets of this area.
Today driving on Churchill we mentioned to each other how magnificent the foliage is. How fortunate are we to live amongst such beauty from Hashem. There are those who could say that they are looking at it but cannot concentrate on it because at the same time they are worrying about what it will look like once the snow falls down and the days are dreary. That is exactly how not to appreciate things. It is the actual moment that we need to take advantage of. We are alive today and we certainly do not know what is in store for us in the future.
Why bother worrying about it? How time is wasted on worry and anxiety when instead we could be living each day to the fullest giving thanks and enjoying. We have learned in our lives together that we have little control over anything anyway. We strive each day to be grateful even when it is difficult and to make the very best of the moment. Tomorrow will bring whatever but we are here today. Let’s enjoy and not rush into the future.
Rabbi Mordechai and Nina Gllick
