Our nephews and nieces are visiting from Chicago. This morning over Passover breakfast we had this conversation with our nephew Levi.
“How old are you?” we asked.
“Six,” he answered.
It turns out that his 7th birthday is on Passover, in fact, it was the following day! Usually kids like to think of themselves as older, calling themselves four and a half or five and three quarters, and with a birthday within the next few days, most kids would probably say “almost seven.” Yet Levi was perfectly happy to be six. It’s OK to be six and enjoy being six, without looking forward to turning seven.
Many adults have difficulty with this. They are constantly eager or anxious, excited or upset about the next thing, the next stage. It’s quite the challenge to live in the moment and deeply appreciate the here and now, when tomorrow is always beckoning.
Last night, my brother-in-law Moshe and I were recalling a talk of the Rebbe in 1991 about …. (will finish updating this post soon).