Do You Believe in Miracles?

Do you believe in miracles?

Have you ever experienced any? Think back to this morning, to the moment when you first opened your eyes. Have you experienced any since then?

Before you answer, consider this:

You opened your eyes! Is that anything less than a miracle? How about your mobility, hearing, cognition? Are these things that "just happen," or are they cause for a swell of gratitude?

How about the loved ones in your life? Are they anything less than a miracle?

The real question is: How do you view your life?

Every life takes twists and turns. Today, some things will go right and some things won't. Which takes up more space in my eyes? The good or the not-so-good? How do I see my day/life as a whole?

Once I see I see my life as a gift, the aggravating bumps take on a different, more manageable, contextWhen I genuinely appreciate the good, it helps me see my journey – in its totality – as a blessing.

Once I see I see my life as a gift, the aggravating bumps take on a different, more manageable, context. They become lessons, exercises in self-betterment, tests of character.

(I don't mean to diminish the pain of our individual problems; on the contrary, I pray that G‑d give us all tranquility and revealed good. But – until then – we need to find a productive way to deal with our obstacles).

This is the powerful lesson of Purim.

We have holidays like Passover, which celebrates the open miracles we experienced in the course of our Exodus from Egypt.

In our lives, that corresponds to the "over the top" moments of good fortune we may experience in the course of our lives. We each have our own special days, our individual "splitting of the sea," and hopefully turn to G‑d and thank Him for our good fortune.

That's Passover. Purim is different.

Purim doesn't have any blockbuster miracle to celebrate. In the Purim story, things turned out positively, and we chose – we had the consciousness and vision – to see it as a miracle.

In the scope of your life, the "Passover miracles" will probably be few and far between. Most of your life is like today, a "regular" day with nothing "special" to celebrate; unless you have vision and choose to appreciate and celebrate.

Then, every day is a holiday.

Time to celebrate!