Fall Into the Abyss or Soar to the Heights? Where is the Good in Life?
With challenges all around, how can one claim the world is a place worth living in?
- גלעד שמואלי
- פורסם כ"א שבט התשפ"ג
(Photo: shutterstock) #VALUE!
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After the creation of the world and humanity, Hashem states about creation in general, "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Hashem attests that His creation is good. So how is it possible that the number of people suffering from depression is skyrocketing, with depression earning the title of 'the epidemic of the generation'? According to studies conducted in the Western world, 10% of the world's population suffers from depression at some stage in their lives. Besides, most of us face some challenge in life, such as financial difficulties, children, late singlehood, health, and more. So where is the 'good' in life hiding, and does it even exist?<\/p>
<\/h3>Fall Into the Abyss or Soar to the Heights?<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>The challenges we receive in our lives have an eternal purpose, which is to elevate us to a higher spiritual place. From that experience, we are supposed to grow, becoming a more noble and elevated persona. Often, it is the difficulty that pushes us toward strengthening, self-correction, and spiritual upliftment. It's a time when a window to chapters of faith and trust opens; it's a period when we pray to Hashem more intensely, rely on Him, and know that only He has the power to improve our situation. Many who faced immense challenges in their lives testified that during that time, they felt a closeness to Hashem they hadn't experienced before the challenge, nor did they experience again after the trial period ended. They say that while they do not wish to experience hardship again, they yearn for that feeling of closeness to Hashem.<\/p>
The difficulties that accompany our lives may not be pleasant, but from a higher and eternal perspective, they are indeed good. They can be compared to spiritual weights that help us achieve true self-fulfillment. They are the ones that turn us into a better version of ourselves, and this is the whole purpose of human life – self-improvement.<\/p>
However, when the perspective on the challenge in our lives lacks faith, as with many people from among the nations, and even with some of our distant brothers and sisters, then the challenge becomes a crisis, a fall into the abyss of depression. Mistaken thoughts that view hardship as bad luck, the hand of fate, and randomness without guiding hand, empty the entire experience of its essence and purpose. Yet, when one views the challenge with a faith-filled perspective, knowing that it occurred by meticulous and planned divine providence for our benefit, then the challenge gains meaning, and the confrontation elevates a person to new spiritual heights.<\/p>
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Surfers in Time<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>Despite the challenges that sometimes accompany our lives, life, in its entirety, is much more good than bad. If each of us makes a list of all the good things in our lives, compared to the less pleasant things, we will see the vast gap between the two. The non-objective feeling that there is much more bad stems from the human tendency to focus on the negative. For example, the news will always deal with disasters and predict pessimistic forecasts on financial, security, and other issues. Similarly, an average person might often dwell in thoughts of worries, instead of recalling the joyful realities existing in their world. Most of these worries deal precisely with things that are not from the present, such as concerns about the future in questions like "What will be?", or in pain over past experiences.<\/p>
But when looking at past events with the belief that everything that happened is certainly for the good since the world is not abandoned, and everything that happens with me is watched from above, and when one cuts off future worries with the confidence that Hashem is all-powerful and will certainly take care of me as a loving father, then one begins to live in the present.<\/p>
The problem is when a person sails in their imagination to the realms of time and does not live the reality around him, as the famous saying goes, "A person is where his thoughts are." If he disconnects from yesterday and from tomorrow with faith and trust in Hashem and looks at his current life, he will see how much good exists right now in his life, how many kindnesses and mercies Hashem bestows upon him every moment.<\/p>
Just as in the private lives of each one, there is incomparably more good than bad, so too in the entire world - the vast majority of people are well-nourished and not hungry for bread, are healthy and not hospitalized, manage to build homes and are not remaining single, enjoy a roof over their heads and are not wandering the streets.<\/p>
Besides, our lives are filled endlessly with luxuries not necessary for our survival, which Hashem in His grace has bestowed upon us, such as colorful vision, diverse fruits and vegetables in appearance and taste, a stunningly beautiful world, natural treasures, the wonder of music and song, and many other things that Hashem gave us to enjoy the good creation He made for us, out of His love for us.<\/p>
The challenges we receive in our lives have an eternal purpose, which is to elevate us to a higher spiritual place. From that experience, we are supposed to grow, becoming a more noble and elevated persona. Often, it is the difficulty that pushes us toward strengthening, self-correction, and spiritual upliftment. It's a time when a window to chapters of faith and trust opens; it's a period when we pray to Hashem more intensely, rely on Him, and know that only He has the power to improve our situation. Many who faced immense challenges in their lives testified that during that time, they felt a closeness to Hashem they hadn't experienced before the challenge, nor did they experience again after the trial period ended. They say that while they do not wish to experience hardship again, they yearn for that feeling of closeness to Hashem.<\/p>
The difficulties that accompany our lives may not be pleasant, but from a higher and eternal perspective, they are indeed good. They can be compared to spiritual weights that help us achieve true self-fulfillment. They are the ones that turn us into a better version of ourselves, and this is the whole purpose of human life – self-improvement.<\/p>
However, when the perspective on the challenge in our lives lacks faith, as with many people from among the nations, and even with some of our distant brothers and sisters, then the challenge becomes a crisis, a fall into the abyss of depression. Mistaken thoughts that view hardship as bad luck, the hand of fate, and randomness without guiding hand, empty the entire experience of its essence and purpose. Yet, when one views the challenge with a faith-filled perspective, knowing that it occurred by meticulous and planned divine providence for our benefit, then the challenge gains meaning, and the confrontation elevates a person to new spiritual heights.<\/p>
<\/p>
Surfers in Time<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>Despite the challenges that sometimes accompany our lives, life, in its entirety, is much more good than bad. If each of us makes a list of all the good things in our lives, compared to the less pleasant things, we will see the vast gap between the two. The non-objective feeling that there is much more bad stems from the human tendency to focus on the negative. For example, the news will always deal with disasters and predict pessimistic forecasts on financial, security, and other issues. Similarly, an average person might often dwell in thoughts of worries, instead of recalling the joyful realities existing in their world. Most of these worries deal precisely with things that are not from the present, such as concerns about the future in questions like "What will be?", or in pain over past experiences.<\/p>
But when looking at past events with the belief that everything that happened is certainly for the good since the world is not abandoned, and everything that happens with me is watched from above, and when one cuts off future worries with the confidence that Hashem is all-powerful and will certainly take care of me as a loving father, then one begins to live in the present.<\/p>
The problem is when a person sails in their imagination to the realms of time and does not live the reality around him, as the famous saying goes, "A person is where his thoughts are." If he disconnects from yesterday and from tomorrow with faith and trust in Hashem and looks at his current life, he will see how much good exists right now in his life, how many kindnesses and mercies Hashem bestows upon him every moment.<\/p>
Just as in the private lives of each one, there is incomparably more good than bad, so too in the entire world - the vast majority of people are well-nourished and not hungry for bread, are healthy and not hospitalized, manage to build homes and are not remaining single, enjoy a roof over their heads and are not wandering the streets.<\/p>
Besides, our lives are filled endlessly with luxuries not necessary for our survival, which Hashem in His grace has bestowed upon us, such as colorful vision, diverse fruits and vegetables in appearance and taste, a stunningly beautiful world, natural treasures, the wonder of music and song, and many other things that Hashem gave us to enjoy the good creation He made for us, out of His love for us.<\/p>
