“Happiness is a journey not a destination”!
So true. Yet how does one journey the path of happiness? After all, it’s not as easy as clicking a switch or waving a wand — happiness requires conscious effort.
Not effort to be happy, rather, effort to allow space for happiness to emerge.
Currently we are in the days of the counting of the Omer. The Omer was a barley offering that brought up in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem on the second day of Passover. From that point and onwards — we count daily a complete 49 days till we reach the 50th day —at which time another sacrifice was offered. This sacrifice was one of wheat.
Today, we don’t have the Temple so we don’t actually offer this offering yet we still count each day and the symbolism is more pertinent than ever.
You see, barley is the first grain to ripen. The offering signifies the beginning of the new season of blessing. A new crop. A new gift.
Gratitude. Thankfulness. No enjoyment from the new crop without a profuse thank you to the source of this blessing. An offering of self and of crop — thank you Hashem.
Gratitude is a huge component in fostering happiness. No expectations. No demands. Gratitude. The recognition of blessing and fortune.
Back to the Omer. We are counting our blessings quite literally. Our lives fuller each day. A conscious meditation. Happiness.
So is that where the expression — “count your blessings come from”? No. But it’s where whoever came up with the expression got it from.
Where else if not from the Torah?
In life one can talk of the “troubled times” or one can focus on the blessings. The choice is clear and the resultant path is exactly what constitutes the journey.
I for one wish to proclaim with enthusiasm — thank you Hashem for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me, my family, my community and my People. I continue to count my blessings!!
With best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom,