I was driving along the palisades parkway, finding the ride rather monotonous. My father's insistence that I set cruise control to 59 mph left me with nothing to do but watch the trees go by. Now, my mother is a nature lover, and to her each tree is this beautiful and unique creation. I embarrass her apparently, because to me a tree is...a tree. And I think trees have a hypnotic effect on me.
So anyway, by eyes were so glazed over I probably looked like I'd been eating donuts. A lane switch here or there, an occasional road curve, and that was it. Suddenly, a glance over to my left snapped me out of my comatose state. You know that gas station in the middle of the palisades, the one after the New York border, the one where you need to take out a second mortgage on your house just to fill up your tank?
Well, they had a big sign there proclaiming their gas price to be $3.05 per gallon. I did a double take. Did I see that right? I looked back, and there was no doubt about it. Gas there was three dollars and five cents. I was completely flabbergasted! It was less than a month ago that I was filling up for under 2 dollars! How could gas have gone up so fast.
And then, I wanted to retract my thoughts. I couldn't believe I had just thought like that. Although it feels like it's been years, it was not all that long ago that I called my father in hysterics, that I had just paid over $4 a gallon and what is the world coming to? A big drop in prices is something we take for granted, but then there is the inevitable incline, and suddenly we forget how lucky we have been for the previous few months.
You see, when it boils down to it, everything in life is a simple matter of perspectives.
So I wrote this all up on erev Shavuos, and naturally I had to connect the idea to shavuos. I was wracking my brain, trying to come up with a brilliant idea that would take this post and turn it into an inspirational tidbit that readers could take with them into Yom Tov. But the more I thought about it, the blanker my mind became. Shavuos? Perspectives? How do they connect?
And then it hit me. The answer was so simple, it ha been staring me in the face all along. See, it's not a chap. It just is. The Torah is the source of perspective. In fact, I would say that the Torah IS perpective.
Genius? Nah. Brilliant inspiration? Nope.
But sometimes the pure and simple truth is the most inspiring. Think about it. This Shavuos, when you accept the Torah, take that little bonus along with it: the perspectives that go hand in hand with the Torah.
Good Yom Tov! Enjoy your cheesecake!
7 comments:
I am still mad the price for a gallon aint any more 1.25$, those were the days
Hmph. And no hat tip to me for giving you that Torah connection :-P Chutzpah.
And I will tell you how the price rose more than $1 in less that a month: Memorial day. Start of summer vacation season. Supply and demand. Happens every year. 3 is still high, but here's hoping it doesn't meet last year's...
MIM- this is going to sound very old of me, but I remember filling up for less than a dollar. I think my father actually saved the receipt from the last time we paid 99 cents. Kinda like a historical document... My grandkids won't believe that it was in my lifetime!
BM- I have absolutely no recollection of you pointing that out to me. What part of "insanely tired and overly exhausted and completely not paying any attention" did you not understand.
That being said.... Folks, hat tip to Bas Melech for thinking of this idea too! :-p
how come i didnt think of that??
Love the Shavuot post. :]
It also reminds me that I should probably make my own as well.
I was talking about in the city 1.25, in new jersey on the turnpike we got for 93 cents a gallon.
TB- It took me a while too.... ;-)
ISH- Thanks! And good job on yours. :-)
MIM- I remember it being under 90 cents, but I think that was off the highway. My father made a very big point of pointing it out to us, to make sure that we'd always remember.... :-)
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