This past weekend, my family and I were in Birmingham to see my oldest daughter in a play at Red Mountain Theater, Birmingham's regional theater. For the past three years, as she has been studying at Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham, we have gotten to know the city A LOT and have our "favorites" to do while we visit her.

One of them is Birmingham Botanical Gardens (which is free). Yesterday, I strolled through the gardens; before we had to say goodbye and come back to town (yes… we missed the earthquake), I was reminded of how important it is for all of us to take some time to stop and reflect.

As a culture, we always seem to be "go, go, go" and it is very rare that we take time to just sit (or walk), be amongst nature, and appreciate what we have around us. There is so much going on all around us, including all the news we are following locally, nationally, and internationally; it is critical that we stop every so often, step away from our devices, and just be.

I know that this often feels very hard to do because we are afraid that we will miss something important or won't be able to respond or reply to a request being made of us. I will be the first to admit that I struggle with this, especially over the last year or so. However, in order to be the best us we can be and not become burned out (making us unable to do what we need to), we must stop every so often and look around.

Our tradition reminds us of the power of appreciating what we have with the prayer Modim Anachnu Lach, which is part of the Amidah, the central part of every prayer service. The translation of the prayer is as follows:

We give thanks to You that you are the Lord our God, and God of our ancestors forever and ever, Rock of our lives and Shield of our salvation from generation to generation.

We give thanks to you and recount your praises, for our lives that are entrusted in your hand, and for our souls that are in your safekeeping, and for your miracles that are with us every day, and for your wonders and good deeds that are with us at all times: evening, morning, and midday.

Good One, your mercies never fail us, Compassionate One, your loving kindness never ceases.

We always hope in you.

By stopping and looking around, we can see the miracles and wonders we have not only in our lives but also in the world around us. Yes, we are witnessing terror, strife, hostilities, war, hate, and a lot of other things. But even in the midst of all of this, there is also good in the world… and sometimes, we need to remember this fact and appreciate it when we see and experience it.

Take time this week to stop, look around, and appreciate the good you see…whatever it is. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller…. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."