Climbing the Tree Higher

It’s my turn to write a blog for Chai Mitzvah… and as I sit in our new home looking out at a rather gray sky I am drawing a blank. You see, we recently moved from a comfortable affordable condo a couple of miles down the road so we can have Shabbat dinner with our small grandchildren.  Boxes are everywhere, painters, carpenters, electricians come and go… and every day there are new issues to be investigated… Mold? Termites? Floods? Did I mention the ice storm this morning and the chronic cough I’ve developed?

Over the course of my life, when I get overwhelmed and “stuck in the muck,” I have developed a vision of climbing the tree higher… Like a koala bear, I envision myself climbing higher and seeing another view… one that lifts me up from where I am, and reminds me of what is truly important in my life and the gift of living this life.  Right now, I am grateful for the meaningful work I do and the great colleagues I work with at Chai Mitzvah. I am grateful that we have wonderful children and grandchildren that live close to us and want to be with us. I am grateful that we have the ability to move (as much of a struggle as it is). In this week’s Torah portion, Bo, Moses tells the people that Nisan will be the first month to you… Sforno says that unlike slaves, free people have command of their time and so now that you are free… you must make time yours (to you).

So as we are now in a New Year, we will all be faced with decisions and unexpected complications. Remember to climb to a place where you can see clearer, the freedom we have in finding meaning even within  the annoyances and challenges, and reminding ourselves that the ability to use time meaningfully is the gift of freedom.

–Audrey Lichter