Last week I heard a very interesting story from a reliable source. At first, I had a hard time accepting the conceptual idea of the story. After contemplating a bit, I realized that there is a lot of depth in it.

A couple who didn't have children for many years came to Rabbi Shalom Arush, a sage in Israel. The woman in particular was in a lot of pain. She cried and detailed how much effort she has gone through to have children and she's still childless.

The Rabbi listened intently but didn't say anything. The woman asked the Rabbi, “What should I do?” He said there is something that can be done but I can't reveal it because you won't be able to act upon it.

The woman was taken aback and said, “Of course I'll do it, I'll do anything to have children”. The Rabbi kept to his and said that he can't reveal it because she won't follow through. The haggling went on for a while with the woman insisting that she'll do it, till the Rabbi said that he'll reveal it.

He said that every day she should spend an hour thanking G-d for not having children.

This is not an easy feat and we can be sure that it was difficult for her to do so. To her credit, she did as the rabbi said every day, and a year later she was holding her own child.

The concept of miracles is not what bothered me in this story. We all experience miracles in our lives. I found it difficult to accept the radical idea of not only accepting a negative situation but thanking for it too.

After thinking a lot about it, I realize how tremendously empowering such an approach can be. Sometimes we go through life trying to reach a level that we imagine is the best life for us. To achieve it we sometimes manipulate our current lives and we are not living life as it is, only as a means to reach the imaginary goals.

I'm not referring necessarily to goals that are not the norm. Even the most basic goals like having children can make the current life miserable.

On the other hand, not having goals, especially basic goals, is also not good. We need to have goals and always hope and strive to reach it. Balancing the two is the key. The way to do it is to keep having goals for the future but to accept the current situation as it is now. If at the moment I don't have what I'd like to have, it must be for the good to such an extent that it's possible to give thanks for this situation.

Thank G-d, we can all find many positive things in life to thank for. But even the negative is part of us and it's extremely empowering to accept and thank for the moment as it is now without compromising the hope that it would become better in the future.

Thanksgiving comes up next week and in Judaism, Chanukah, which is also a holiday of giving thanks, is coming up in a few weeks.

Here I'd like to give thanks for something very positive that's been going on for me: writing for the Sullivan Democrat! I started with very little experience, but with the trust of the wonderful staff at the Democrat, I learned a lot in the two years of writing the column. If I'm anything worth my salt in writing, it is thanks to this outlet. Thank you, Fred Stabbert, Matt Shortall, and Joe Abraham!

Of course, most important in writing is the audience. I'm very thankful for this special readership and for the wonderful feedback that I've been receiving. I marvel at the special relationship that is created between a writer and their audience even though the two never met. I wish you all much blessings and we should all be able to thank for an abundance of positivity in our lives.

Comments? munger@jaketv.tv