I stopped into Home Depot yesterday to pick up an item for the house. I was in and out fairly quickly, even with a child in tow. I returned to the car, strapped my toddler in, got comfortable in my seat, just ahead of the approaching storm clouds, only to realize the keys were not in my pocket...
My mind began racing with backup plans, (do I even have the other key to the car?) while I'm tracing my steps around the parking lot, store, the check-out line. Asking shoppers in the aisles if they noticed a car key. Nothing. Do I Uber home? Ask my wife to pick us up? How can I get the car back on the road?... I approached the Customer Service counter to see if they can help. I ask the first employee whos attention I got. He slides his hands into his pocket and says: "Are these yours? Someone brought them to the counter 15 minutes ago". Phew. "Thank you! There are kind people in this world", I said.
The day moves on, other pressing things need my attention. The kindness of the stranger, who chose to bother himself with some keys on the ground in a parking lot and hand them to customer service, when they could have simply ignored it, faded from my mind. And it would probably not be on my mind today, if I had not ben writing this message. What if my keys were not found? The saga would likely be front and center on my mind for the coming days.
This is how humans tend to operate. We take goodness around us for granted. Even when we acknowledge and are grateful, the feelings of gratitude are often short lived. While negative experiences linger and live on in our minds.
It's like the Manna-eaters in this week's Torah portion, Beha'alotcha. Every morning they awoke to this miraculous, great tasting food, hassle free, worry free. What else can you ask for?! It's like getting a paycheck from your boss for time spent vacationing on the beach. But the Jews complained (Numbers, 11,6, / Rashi): "We have nothing but manna to look at", "Manna in the morning, manna in the evening."(!)
The message is clear. We can have outstanding gifts, blessings and success in our lives but spend our time obsessing over the few unresolved troubles.
Your life will only be filled with with positivity if you choose to focus on it. Make the time every morning to thank Hashem for the blessings in your life!