Bless Subway Surfer!

True story.

I was sitting with my kids when suddenly they all cried out in perfect unison: “What a cool world!” For the next few minutes they continued on in this vein, trying to outdo each other in expressing what a cool and beautiful world it is.

Inside I was glowing with pride, rich with the knowledge that my children were wide-eyed enough to observe the beauty around them.

Isn’t that wonderful?

OK, so they were playing Subway Surfer and had discovered a new level (world!). But still, it was wonderful to hear.

And anyway, whatever it takes to make kids say “What a beautiful world!” is fine with me.

Because if there is anything the Rebbe strove to teach us it was that we need to train ourselves and our families to see a beautiful world. The world is G-d’s personal, beloved garden and though years of neglect and some outright vandalism by the gardeners have duller her beauty, G-d’s garden she continues to be and that beauty will never cease.

What are the telltale signs of a person who sees a beautiful world?

Chronic happiness. Irrepressible cheerfulness. Optimism and positivity. Undying hope and trust in the Owner. Favorable judgment. Endless appreciation of simple good deeds.

You get the idea. Someone like the Rebbe. And someone like who the Rebbe wanted us to be.

(And lest a suffering cynic say, “Easy for him to say”, let us not forget that the Nazis killed the Rebbe’s brother, brother-in-law and sisters-in-law and many friends; the Soviets killed his father and even more of his friends and separated him from his mother for 20 years; the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin were never blessed with (biological) children (aside from the hundreds of thousands who considered the Rebbe their father.) The Rebbe never slept more than four hours a night and took not one day of vacation in over 40 years. A walk in the park it wasn’t.)

The Rebbe had tolerance for a lot of shtick from a lot of people. People kissed his hand, his beard. People cried on his desk, pouring out their bitter and broken hearts into his seemingly endlessly huge heart. People petitioned him to endorse and partner with countless causes, some wise, some less-so. His opponents mocked his Mitzvah campaigns and brave opinions almost as tirelessly as he advocated them. The Rebbe had patience for ignorance, anger, disagreement, even heresy (search YouTube for the missionary preaching to the Rebbe at Dollars.)

But it is probably safe to say that the one thing the Rebbe did not preach patience for was pessimism or negativity.

So when a new day begins and the sun rises once again over G-d’s beautiful world, remember the Rebbe’s smile and unlock the wellsprings of hope and confidence in your heart. Start the day with joy, secure in the knowledge that this is going to be the best day of your life yet, for with G-d help and the Rebbe’s inspiration, you are going make sure it is.