EVERY DAY IS A VICTORY

I do not know if the phrase "every day is a victory" is in fact my father's or something he heard or read somewhere, but I truly believe it is a saying that provides me comfort and hope each and every day. If someone knows its origins, please advise...

For all the mishigas (sp?) that goes on in my life, it is my mishigas. For all the stress my children put us through, it is our stress. And while sometimes I would like to pawn it off on someone, there apparently are no takers.

I guess the same could be said of a congregation. There will always be mishigas, but it is our mishigas. Alot of the self-inflicted mishigas we bring to bear on ourselves becomes part of the perception of a Jew and our Jewish heritage. We seem to be more inclined to attacking one another as opposed to protecting and growing the flock.

Yet, together with all the mishigas, there does come the occasional joys, the nachas, the satisfaction of completing a task, having a productive discussion, getting something done; advancing a positive moral and ethical agenda in the name of G-d.

So while the daily stresses of our personal lives, professional/business issues and FHC are certainly things that give our lives mishigas, we should try and take the mishigas in stride, learn from it and try to kvetch less and expend more of our energies on problem solving and not problem rehashing and reliving.

I truly hope that we can spend more of our time and energy in the future finding ways to grow the nachas and reduce the mishigas. Certainly that is my desire and hope. If not, I can always take comfort in knowing that no matter what, every day is a victory.

Shalom.

Jeremy