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It can be challenging to wake up and start momentum anew each day with a positive outlook. The increasing numbers of people who lost their lives in Central Texas amid the devastating floods pains all of us, for even though we might not live in Texas, we are Americans, and so were they. Their loss is our loss. We empathize with their pain of loss.

Creating a positive attitude every day is a learned skill; there will be days that it is easy and days where it is not so easy. But the effort is indeed worth the results. We know far too many stories of people who were unable to move in a positive direction, with bad results, as we in the Tree of Life Congregation know all too well. Anakin Skywalker was unable to move in any direction except towards the Dark Side and became Darth Vader. Elphaba was unable likewise and became The Wicked Witch. While both are fantasy, they are based on the reality of the potential that exists in every human being to navigate towards the Dark Side, or the alternative, which I will call the Light Side. 

Sometimes that encouragement starts with Divine aid. King David, warrior, statesman and poet, understood that well, being devoted to God, and that Divine inspiration led to the Psalms. We all know the beginning of Psalm 121 well: I lift up my eyes to the hills; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from God, Maker of the Heavens and the Earth. Twentieth Century singer/songwriters became our public poets, providing us with words of inspiration and encouragement. The Nobel Prize Committee agreed and bestowed the Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan in 2016. Divine assistance is always welcome, but sometimes we must provide the added impetus ourselves.  I thought of the opening stanza from the song “Beautiful” by Carole King: You’ve got to get up every morning with a smile on your face, and show the world all the love in your heart. Burt Bacharach recognized the need for love amidst the Vietnam War in 1965 when he penned: What the world needs now is love, sweet love; It's the only thing that there's just too little of. What the world needs now is love, sweet love; No not just for some but for everyone. 

First, we must love ourselves and accept who we are before we are able to embrace our humanity and share our love with others. Finding joy in the mundane is not easy, but sneaking into your day moments of joy is not that difficult. What are things that give you joy, and how might you be able to take one minute out of your day to include one of them? I’ll share a personal example: I grew up going down to the Jersey Shore, and that remains my special place. I have on my cell phone a one-minute video of the Atlantic Ocean filmed from the Jersey Shore. I play that video and just take in the sound of the waves. I find that one minute (sometimes I repeat the video) refreshing and recharging. What one minute recharge can you think of that brings you joy? 

Where we see or experience a black hole without love, be the provider of love. In the end, I will always go back to The Beatles – All you need is love.