Dear Readers,
“It’s getting so cold outside. I just can’t stand the long, cold winter!”
“I have so much to take care of, I don’t even know where to begin. This is just way too much!”
“Why am I always the one to do all the grocery shopping, preparing and cooking for our family’s reunion? How am I going to get it all done?”
There’s so much in our daily schedules that we can complain about. Nothing ever seems to go how we want it, and let’s be honest, life can be tough with its myriad responsibilities and challenges. It’s easy to feel down, depressed and overwhelmed.
Or, we can reframe.
Imagine looking through a camera lens at beautiful nature scenes. It’s the fall season, and you see the glorious trees, with their leaves gently falling and their many panoramic colors. Now focus in on one of those leaves. Set the camera on a dark, ugly dark spot, and notice how shriveled and dried out the leaf appears. Now zoom back out and reframe again. You might see the dazzling colors, or you might notice the strong wind, chilling you to the bone.
Really, the choice is ours. It’s all there. But what frame do you want to see?
Reframing means to examine situations with a different slant, a different perspective. We can look at life as a burden or an opportunity. We can look at our many responsibilities as overwhelming, or we can be happy that we are strong, capable, and physically and emotionally able to do them. We can see the drudgery and coldness of the onset of the winter, or we can appreciate that we are alive to once again witness the change of seasons. We can lament the fact that we need to cook, work, clean or we can appreciate the fact that we have food, a job and a home.
Any situation can be reframed from “I’ve got to …” (read: burdensome, painful, negative) to “I get to …” (read: privilege, opportunity, positive). The day will be filled with the same activities, but it can look entirely different.
There is a famous Chassidic saying, tracht gut vet zain gut, meaning “think good and it will be good.” This means that if we have faith in G‑d, He will do something positive for us. G‑d will channel that faith to actually bring the revealed goodness in our life. Think positively, and G‑d will ensure that you will receive a positive outcome.
On another level, “think good and it will be good” can mean if your mindset is positive—if you are thinking of your situation in terms of what you “get” to do, rather than what you have “got” to do—then your entire perspective and attitude will be positive. Rather than complaining about all the bad in your life, you will actually see how good your life really is!
What a positive thought!
Chana Weisberg
Editor, TJW
