A good eye in Elul

We are about to enter the meaningful month of Elul. This is an introspective time on a personal and collective front when we reflect back upon the year that was, during which we compile a mental tally of our trials and triumphs. We also pause to take a breath and imbibe a deep draught of spiritual sustenance throughout the High Holy Days, looking forward with renewed resolve and resilience.

After all, we know that two people can look at the exact same circumstances, analyse the duplicate data, and emerge with totally opposed conclusions depending on their individual perspectives. Glass half full. Glass half empty.

Intriguingly, positivity is not just a facet of our overarching Jewish modus operandi, it is the wide window through which our worldview beckons. Distil this and time and time again we find that if you change the way you look at things – the things you look at effectively change.

Numerous studies have found that among patients suffering from an identical illness, those with a positive attitude healed faster and maintained good health for longer than those with a negative attitude.

The bright aspects of our lives tend to get a lot less attention. Case in point: if you have ten positive encounters during a given day versus one negative, which is often repeated to loved ones first at the end of the day?

This is a rhetorical question because we all know the answer. This is why so much of Jewish ritual and tradition is designed to help train our minds to focus on the good. The first thing we do in the morning, even before getting out of bed, is recite the Modeh Ani prayer, thanking G-d for giving us another day of refreshed life.

Before we consume food or water we pause and say a blessing expressing gratitude for even the simplest, most basic sustenance. Before we retire at night we recite the Shema, reflecting on