Milestones are a big deal.
They help gauge and measure.
It’s almost as if without them, one moment would blend into the next. Life would be one big whoosh.
So milestones give pause. Help us appreciate, make a reckoning, recalibrate — and thrust forward to the new opportunities that lay in front of us.
In ways we do that every week on Shabbat. We rest. Pull back from the hustle, from the whoosh of the week. We count our blessings, revel in life & recharge for an even greater week ahead of us.
Holidays too. Ordinarily, who has time for reflection and appreciation of the miracles that define ourselves, our nation and our history? In middle of a busy week? When there’s a long laundry list of things to do? Let’s get real….
Ok. Let’s get real. Can one really live life to the fullest when they don’t adequately reflect and consider the life they’ve lived? The moments that have aligned themselves to afford us our opportunities? To recognize that independence is only recognized when we acknowledge those we are existentially dependent upon?
PURIM arrives next week. It has all the lessons in the world to rise from the most stressful and lowest moment possible, to endure challenge, rise to the top, experience total reversal of fortune and fate — all hinged on the faith in Gd that our ancestors exhibited and fostered and the selfless leadership of what we now know were heroines and hero’s but unknown to them when they stepped up.
Milestones. They help gauge and measure. Reflect and appreciate. Renew and reengage — CELEBRATE and well yes, celebrate. For after all — tomorrow is always contingent on yesterday but most affected by “today”. Let’s celebrate!
With best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom,