Can you control your thoughts?
In this week's Torah portion, Yitro, we read the Ten Commandments. While some of the commandments may come to us effortlessly, the tenth commandment seems like a tough one to master. Jealousy.
How can we get destructive thoughts of jealousy out of our head? Wouldn't my life be that much better if only I had ___________?!
Perhaps because this is such a difficult Mitzvah, some commentaries understand that the Torah actually provides us with a tool, an approach, to help us overcome feelings of jealousy.
"Do not be jealous of your friend's house. Do not be jealous of your friend's wife... and all that belongs to them."
'And all that belongs to them', is not merely a reference to the subject, but a framework to help you. You may isolate an element of your friend's life, their job, personality, skill set, family, etc. etc. and wish you had that, but you fail to take 'all that belongs to them' into account. Their entire life. It's a package deal.
So, next time your child wants you to buy them a hover board just like their friends' got from their parents, you can say "sure, but you get their parents too" :)
Our life story may seem to have its pros and cons (a peckelin Yiddish), but together it creates a perfect custom-made package, the life that only you could live, and the impact that only you can make!