When I was in elementary school, we used a set of readers, the Scribner Reading Series, which had warm and inviting titles and cover images. The ones we used, specifically, were:
- Join the Circle
- Come Right In
- Meet New Friends
- Stay Awhile
- All Together
- Share a Smile
- Look Around You
- Each New Day
- Turn a Corner
I hear these books have been supplanted by something young and fresh, the nerve.
These books are the source of some powerful nostalgia for me. I remember first grade reading groups and earning plastic stars which could be exchanged for prizes. I remember Sam, Pippin, Rhonda and Rumpus, a recurring cast of animal characters. I remember reading “Hester in the Attic” to my school principal in the hallway outside my classroom. I remember the accompanying workbooks, how exciting it was to get one all for myself, to fill in the round bubbles or trace the letters.
For a child, each new day is so full of potential. So full of promise. At least, that is how it should be in a world where children are safe and taken care of. But what about adults? The novelty of life can wear off. Adult-sized difficulties can tarnish our glow.
Maybe (among many other things), Sefirah is the gift of revisiting that childlike state of living, when each day was so full and so significant. So full of learning new things. So full of anticipation for the next day. When each day really counted.
Hayom yom…Today is alive. Today is a gift. Today is chance to meet new friends, to share a smile, to look around you.
Each new day is precious, and each new day matters. However hard or easy, empty or full, similar or novel it is compared to any other day. It is easy to forget, but for a few weeks a year, we remember.
Wishing you a beautiful new day!
(Photo credit: Rino Adamo/Pexels. I cannot but help notice that the wind is in the east.)
