The Bright Side

We’re all familiar with that annoying saying, “Look on the bright side- it could be worse.” Honestly, no one likes to hear that when they’re going through something difficult. We prefer to think of ourselves as innocent victims, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We prefer to think of life as a random course of events, without any reasoning behind it all. We prefer to stick our heads in the sand like ostriches and not take responsibility for anything. When life gives us a slap in the face, we focus on the unfairness of it all and tending to our bruised cheeks.
 
I got such a slap in the face a couple weeks ago. Well, it was more like a slap in the ankle. My kids were jumping on the trampoline out back, and they wanted me to come watch them. With the baby in my arms, I walked down the steps to the backyard, and as I reached the bottom step, I felt a number of ccrrraaaaccccckkkksssss as my foot twisted and I fell to the ground, while still holding the baby! I started screaming like a wild animal from the pain, yelling at my kids to go get some neighbor. My oldest ran to find someone, while my other two went back to jumping on the trampoline as I was screaming in pain. Eventually, my son came back with my upstairs neighbors, who helped me immensely over the next night and day. It turned out that I had a bad sprain, but I needed to stay in bed for a few days and walk with crutches for a few weeks.
 
Okay, we know we’re supposed to have emuna, to believe that everything happens for a reason and for our best. I can think of a million reasons why I deserved a sprained ankle, but I want to focus on something else- the bright side of the situation. Doing so in any painful moment can really switch your perception and help you achieve the spiritual correction you were supposed to. If not, the message from Hashem was in vain, as it didn’t stimulate your self-assessment.
 
Here is what I saw:
 
– G-d forbid, one of my kids could have fallen. Thank G-d it was me and not them.
 
– I could have fallen forward, and hurt the baby.
 
– I could have dropped the baby.

– I could have broken my ankle.
 
– I could have broken another part of my body if I had fallen forward.
 
– My neighbors wouldn’t have been home, and I would have had to take all four kids in an ambulance to the emergency room. Good times!
 
– I could have waited hours to get an x-ray. Instead, I was seen and x-rayed in 20 minutes.
 
– I could have been in excruciating pain throughout the entire process. Thank G-d, the horrible part of the pain was only in the beginning, and then the miracle of endorphins kicked in. I didn’t need any narcotics.
 
– On the way home, my neighbor drove me to a place where they give out free crutches. (I know, I still can’t believe they didn’t have them at the emergency room. Welcome to Israel!) It was after 8pm, and they were supposed to be closed, but they were still open! When my neighbor asked the guy why he was open, he answered, “I really don’t know. We’re supposed to be closed!” As we pulled out of the parking lot, I saw they had already turned off the lights.
 
– After I returned, my kids were unusually agreeable and went to sleep without a screaming match.
 
– I got to sleep next to my baby, which I love to do. This was because I wasn’t able to hold him and take him out of the crib. (For those who are asking why I don’t sleep next to him anyways, it’s because he moves around too much, and I don’t have a bedrail.)
 
– I get to rest. Usually, I’m so busy trying to get everything done around the house. Today and for the next few days, I’m on vacation.
 
– I get to read.
 
– I get to write.
 
– I see firsthand the amazing achdut that exists within Klal Yisrael. My neighbors had moved in barely a month ago, and I hardly knew them. Nonetheless, they did everything they could to help me. The wife even came over this morning to help me get the kids ready for school, and she took them to school herself.
 
– My neighbor had summer break, so she was able to help last night and this morning.
 
– This could have happened at the beginning of my husband’s three week trip to the States. Instead, it happened the night before he returned.
 
All in all, there are many positive lessons to learn from an unfortunate event. It’s all about looking at it with a different set of glasses. If you need help trying to see the good in life, I would recommend listening to Rabbi Brody’s CD’s, “Lenses of Emuna” and “Why Are You Sad?”. Even though it’s a saying that reminds me of an old lady speaking in a nasaly voice, “Look on the bright side” is the key to a life of genuine happiness.