Appreciate the Goodness
What an awesome appreciation gift it is to be able to appreciate true goodness.
I just returned from a walk with a friend. We always try to make our walking conversation meaningful, so we decided to answer the following question: What is good in our lives these days?
Interestingly, the good things we spoke about were not light and easy things. It wasn’t like “I went to a good restaurant” or “I found a great dress for my son’s wedding”. The answer for both of us was more along the lines of “I am in a better place today than I was yesterday”.
Whether it was about making progress in the way we respond to a family member in a difficult situation, or the way we were truly seeing the good in the challenges that God has thrown our way, for each of us it was about seeing true goodness, even when on the surface, things didn’t seem that great.
My friend shared a saying she heard once, “The road to success is always under construction.” How true that is! We constantly need to work hard to push forward against obstacles that block the way.
Don’t ever expect the path upwards to be smooth and easy. Ari Fuld Hy”d wisely taught his children, “If life is easy, then you’re doing something wrong.” (Read about Ari Fuld here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Ari_Fuld )
Without challenges, our lives go nowhere. And the challenge of life is to see that God gives us so much goodness within those challenges. We need to view challenging situations as good opportunities!
Appreciating everything and everyone
All of this talk on our beautiful walk helped us to appreciate everything around us a bit more. (I so love walking with the stunning view of the Jerusalem Hills beside us).
Think about all the things you appreciate about your life. There are so many. Think about people in the world who are a gift to you, because they have given you something special of themselves, true goodness. Have you ever thought of reaching out, even without it being their birthday or any special occasion, and just saying “Thank you”? Do it. It’s such an easy act of kindness. You telling someone he’s appreciated will fill him with gratitude and encourage him to do even more goodness for others. Those warm feelings will create a positive energy that will instantly help make this world a better place.
New Jewish Papercut Art Appreciation Gift
I am so excited to introduce my new design “Enjoy All the Goodness, For You Shall be Blessed”.
It features the Shiv’at HaMinim, or The Seven Species. These are the seven special fruits and grains mentioned in the Torah that grow in abundance in the land of Israel. These edible delights are some of Israel’s greatest blessings.
Interesting fact: There is continuous research being done to study the health benefits of each of the seven species. Here’s a link to read about it https://biomedres.us/fulltexts/BJSTR.MS.ID.004239.php . These fruits and grains have been growing in Israel since ancient times. How fun that we still get to eat these nutritionally and spiritually beneficial indigenous Israeli foods today!
My new design, “Enjoy the Goodness, For You Shall be Blessed” celebrates the idea of appreciating everything and everyone in every situation.
My wish to you is as it says in the Torah (and on my new papercut design): May you enjoy all the goodness that God gives to you and your family, For you shall be blessed by God… And you shall only have joy.
For more details or to purchase this design:
https://www.papercutjudaica.com/product/enjoy-the-goodness-for-you-shall-be-blessed-with-english/ and https://www.papercutjudaica.com/product/enjoy-the-goodness-for-you-shall-be-blessed/
