Why Life Is Actually Good: Discovering G-d's Kindness in Our Daily Reality

Lior Asks: “In the Torah, it says that G-d saw the world and declared it ‘very good.’ How does that fit with the reality that most people suffer, work hard, and barely enjoy life? I believe in the World to Come, which I know is the main goal, but it still doesn’t explain where we see G-d’s goodness in this world.”

Dear Lior,

Thank you for your thoughtful question.

Modern Western culture has conditioned us to believe that life is mostly suffering. It focuses on the negative because fear and drama attract attention (and ratings). For this reason, news outlets constantly emphasize bad news. Unsurprisingly, rates of depression have risen in parallel with this cynical worldview, but this perception is deeply flawed.

Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, the world is actually filled with good. Most people today are not starving and most don't suffer from plagues or deadly illnesses. In fact, the majority die peacefully, surrounded by abundance, not from hunger. If not for greed and inequality, not a single person on Earth would have to go without.

We’ve been gifted a world of stunning beauty, overflowing with resources, abilities, and pleasures. Every day, we experience countless moments of comfort. If we just stop and look, any moment where we’re not in hunger, thirst, cold, or pain, where we have shelter and clothing, is objectively a happy moment. We often miss it because we’re lost in thoughts, worries, regrets, or fears about the future.

If a single moment of pain feels so intense and real, why don’t we give equal emotional weight to the millions of moments of peace and comfort that make up most of our lives?

Stop for just one second, take a deep breath, and notice the air filling your lungs. That’s a pure moment of goodness. You’re alive. You’re not in danger. If you really stop to think about it, you’ll realize that most of the pain we feel doesn’t come from reality, but from our thoughts.

Each of us carries inside our heads the most complex machine in the universe: the human brain. With over 100 billion neurons working in perfect harmony, it allows us to think, breathe, and ask questions like this.

Would you give up your vision for a million dollars? Or your sense of hearing? Taste? Touch? Would you sell your hands or your legs? Most of us would say no. Even your fingernails play a vital role—but have you ever stopped to appreciate them?

Every single one of us has received thousands of priceless gifts from G-d. Each finger is a marvel of engineering. Scientists are still trying to replicate it with robotics, and they’re not even close. And yet, we rarely stop to thank G-d for what we already have. We only ask for more.

Like a spoiled child who complains because he’s forgotten just how much his parents do for him, we often take for granted the love and abundance we’ve received. Human beings live better than any other creatures on Earth, and far better than we need just to survive. G-d gave us not just what we need, but much more.

He didn’t need to create the endless varieties of fruit, the colors in the world, or the joy of music and taste and touch. He could have given us one eye, one ear, no color vision, no beauty, no flavor. But He didn’t. He gave us all this so that we could enjoy life.

For this reason the Torah says, “And G-od saw all that He made, and behold—it was very good.” Because it is. The world reflects G-d’s immense love for us. We simply need to learn how to see it.

The Rambam (Maimonides) explained it this way in his Guide for the Perplexed (Part III, Chapter 12): “People often imagine there is more bad than good in the world...But most of the suffering people endure comes from their own choices. They pursue luxuries they don’t need and then grow bitter when they can’t attain them. But the basic necessities of life—air, water, food—are abundant, cheap, and accessible to all. And in this we see the kindness and goodness of G-d toward His creations.”

It’s time we taught our children—and reminded ourselves—that the world is bright. Most people don’t appreciate the blessings in their lives. They don’t value their eyesight, hearing, movement, or even their eyebrows (which exist just to keep sweat out of their eyes). All of these are daily miracles.

Above all, G-d gave us the greatest gift of all: His Torah, a divine roadmap to becoming the best versions of ourselves and achieving eternal closeness to Him in the World to Come. “What does G-d ask of you? Only this: to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your G-d.” (Micah 6:8)

He breathed into us a living soul, in His image, so that we can grow spiritually and have an eternal connection with Him, which is the greatest reward of all.

If this world, with all its beauty, is only the preparation for the next, imagine the splendor and joy that await us in the World to Come.