Oy vey.... whining and complaining

In this week's Torah portion, B'shallach, we read of the Israelites flight from Egypt. One of the things that stands out for me is the fact they complain incessantly about the heat, the walk, the lack of water, the taste of the water when they get it, the lack of food, the manna isn't good enough, on and on. We laughed about it in class, but at the heart of it, it wasn't so laughable. Sure, we as Jews have a bit of a stereotype when it comes to complaining, and there are some jokes I've heard that make fun of this facet of life. But why do we complain? Why aren't we grateful for whatever it is that is given to us?
We complain about our bodies, we complain about work, we complain about our spouses, or children, or parents, or friends. For some people who have made an art form out of it, nothing is ever right. Nothing is ever perfect, or lives up to our expectations of what it should be.
Judaism makes a big deal out of distinctions. There are many boundaries we don't cross, and many that we do. It seems to me that everything in life can't be holy, it can't be perfect, for we're not in Gan Eden anymore. So, can it be that the things we complain about are the things that haven't achieved holiness yet? Or we don't see its holiness because it's obscured by pain, or ego, or something else that clouds our vision?
Maybe the fact that my body aches when I wake up is just a fact of life in growing older. But at least I woke up (Modah ani l'fanecha). And I have another chance to make this world a better place. Our bodies are imperfect packages for our souls, but HaShem made them that way for a reason. It's a mystery to me, but that's ok.
The next time I complain, I'm also going to ask myself that whatever I'm complaining about might not have achieved its holy purpose, but eventually it will!
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Sing Your Own Song!

Spring is here for us in the Northern Hemisphere. I always think of this change of seasons as the most blatant, in that we are going from the "sleep" of winter into full-blown energy. Listen to the birds' songs getting louder and more prevalent in their quest to mate. See trees and other plants bursting forth with new growth. There is also spring cleaning--of our homes, and ourselves. Pesach is coming soon. All of these events constitute more energy and activity, an awakening.

Rabbi Nachman in Likkutei MoHaRaN I:282 teaches that each person can always revive and reawaken his/her spirits "by searching out and finding your positive points, collecting them together and sifting them out from the impurities within you, this is how melodies are made.... search until you find a little bit of good in yourself... and in just the same way, you must carrying on searching until you find yet another good point. If despite your desire to be happy you feel drawn down, draw strength from happier times gone by. Eventually, joy will return."

This also reminds us to thank HaShem for the blessings in our lives. It's so easy to get caught up in the negative feelings, and I love what R. Nachman says about creating melodies. Each one of us is a special, unique song that HaShem sings as we are breathed into being. Never forget that!

Unity in Heart and Mind

The Baal Shem Tov, one of Judaism's greatest teachers writes, "Where your thought is, precisely where you are--all of yourself is there." When we are lost, in despair, in pain, our first thought is often of that pain, and of being fully engulfed in it. Contrastingly, when one is joyful, we are fully engulfed in our joyfulness, because of what we are thinking about our experience. How powerful our thoughts are! We have the power to overcome the negative thoughts by thinking other more positive thoughts. (obviously if a person is in dire need of medication to lessen the pain, by all means, administer it). During times of great stress to the body, spirit, or mind, it is so important to take the time to put ourselves into beautiful places, if only in our minds. Use whatever supports are at hand, whether they be people who can soothe us with massage, or singing, or laughter, or even reading to us. Play calming music, imagine places in nature that are calming, do what it takes to bring joy and light into the darkness. It is not ignoring our responsibilities to escape the pain for a little while, but instead, we are giving ourselves blessed permission to rest and recuperate, and gather our energies towards recovery.
HaShem never gives us anything more than we can handle, even if we don't always believe it at first glance. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov states that God hides in the obstacles on our journeys, and waits to be discovered.