23 February 2024
Question
I want to be happy. I want to at least show a happy face for my family. But with so many problems going on in my life, I am finding it hard even to fake it, let alone feel real happiness. How do we find joy when there are so many reasons not to?
Answer
Today is your day. Today is a Jewish festival called Purim Katan. Not Purim, but "Small Purim". If you celebrate it right, it will change your life.
This year is a Jewish leap year, with thirteen months instead of twelve. The month of Adar is repeated twice, and we celebrate Purim in the second Adar, not the first.
Today, the fourteenth day of the first Adar, would have been Purim in a non-leap year. But it is a leap year, so Purim is a month away. And yet, because today would have been Purim, we make a minor celebration. We call it Purim Katan, Small Purim, and add some extra joy to the day.
This seems a ridiculous excuse for a festival. We are celebrating an ordinary day because it would have been a festival in another year. Seriously? That's like celebrating a birth on the due date, even though the baby was born a week later. The fact is that this year is a leap year, and today is not Purim. Get over it. Making today a happy day seems like a desperate attempt to make something out of nothing.
And that's the point.
When it comes to joy, any excuse is good enough. If we can come up with the most outlandish reason to be happy, we should do so. Grab onto even the slightest cause to celebrate. If that means making something out of nothing, so be it. As long as we increase joy. Focus on why today is a great day, and it will become a great day.
Think about it. We do the same thing to make ourselves miserable. We worry about things that only might happen. We lose sleep over what-ifs and maybes. And when life is going fine and everything is pretty good, we harp on the one thing that upsets us, the one thing that isn't perfect, and let it ruin our day.
So why not flip this bad habit on its head, and use it to be happy? Rather than giving our problems centre stage, look at our blessings. Let's make mountains not out of molehills, but out of minor victories and small miracles. Even if it is a bit of a stretch, you can always find a reason to celebrate.
We are what we focus on. The closer the object, the bigger it looks. The more attention we give to the good in our lives, the more room it occupies in our mind. Maybe that's why it's called Purim Katan - even a small blessing becomes big if we make it so.
