In life, we generally celebrate the end of a journey – graduation from college, winning a medal, trophy or award – there is rarely someone cheering on each day of hard work that led to that big moment.
In life, we generally celebrate the end of a journey – graduation from college, winning a medal, trophy or award – there is rarely someone cheering on each day of hard work that led to that big moment.
Alexander Jewish Family Service Friends –
From the end of Pesach until Shavuot we count the Omer – we count 49 days until we celebrate the receiving of the Torah at Shavuot. For me this custom is an important reminder of the importance of each day – that life doesn’t just happen in the big moments –each day is unique and important on its own.
On Pesach we celebrate leaving slavery and our journey to freedom. On Shavuot we celebrate the receiving of the Torah at Sinai. It would be easy for the days in-between these two holidays to get lost. Counting the Omer reminds us that the big moments are only made possible through, days, weeks months and years of hard work and preparation. In life, we generally celebrate the end of a journey – graduation from college, winning a medal, trophy or award – there is rarely someone cheering on each day of hard work that led to that big moment. Counting the Omer is an opportunity to take a moment to recognize each day – to name it –and to recognize its importance in being an important step towards an important celebration.
The author Andy Andrews says it this way:
“Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain.
It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.”
Every year, high in the San Bernadino mountain range of Southern California, five acres of beautiful daffodils burst into bloom. Amazingly, this special spot, known as "The Daffodil Garden," was planted by one person, one bulb at a time, over a period of thirty-five years. On the property there is a poster that reads, “Answers to the Questions I know You Are Asking.” The first answer was a simple one,"50,000 bulbs”. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."
In her book, “The Daffodil Principle” that tells the story of this garden, Jeroldeen Asplund Edwards says it this way:
“One bulb at a time. There was no other way to do it.
No shortcuts--simply loving the slow process of planting.
Loving the work as it unfolded.
Loving an achievement that grew slowly and bloomed for only three weeks each year.”
The principle that this woman’s daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time and learning to love the doing. Learning to appreciation what we can accomplish if we value and use accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.
In the work we do each day at Alexander JFS we are planting bulbs – one at a time. Each one, with time, care and patience, will bloom at some point in the future. We may not always be there to celebrate the moment that the bulb blooms but we continue to plant each day knowing that doing it consistently over time is our investment in creating amore beautiful future.
In California, one woman planted over 50,000 bulbs one at a time. The three weeks of the year that they bloom are spectacular and awe inspiring but to enjoy those moments without celebrating the years of work that went into creating them misses part of the miracle.
I hope that whether or not your day today involves celebrations or not – that you take a moment to honor the work of planting.
Carl E. Josehart, MSW (he/him/his)
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