GRATITUDE ON MANY LEVELS

[schlomo]

Gratitude on Many Levels

It’s tempting for me to dwell on what I consider to be the exponentially catastrophic events occurring throughout the world: the emergence of an Omicron variant (dubbed the Kraken, a mythological sea monster) that is relatively immune to the latest anti-Covid-19 booster vaccines; right-wing, proto-Fascist extremism at home, in Europe, South America, and in the Middle East; and accelerating climate devastation from California to Pakistan.

But soon I remind myself of what a wise rabbi once said at my son’s Bar Mitzvah years ago: we should appreciate, elevate, and celebrate the ordinary little things in our daily life that can give us extraordinary joy.

Every time I take a walk along my usual route in Waikiki, I find something to uplift my spirit. Today after I crossed an intersection, I scanned the horizon. I saw that Diamond Head Mountain, which had been incrementally getting greener since the drought last year, was now resplendently and completely lush once again. Instead of continuing my walk right away, I spent a few minutes marveling at this glorious spectacle.

At the end of my walk, I noticed that a car was parked in front of my condo. A demure young lady was sitting in the driver’s seat.  Her license plate read “Be Kind.” What a simple, gracious G-rated sentiment—unlike the R-rated indignant anti-drug poster that I saw an angry young lady brandish yesterday when I was driving out of Waikiki, “F… FENTANYL.”  In both cases, I was reminded of how so many of us in Hawaii care about improving the welfare of humanity.

 This week, my faith in nature was matched by my faith in people. So be it!