“Whatever he did, he did for himself. He didn’t do it for me.” That’s a twisted way of thinking,
You know, I enjoy the gardens more than the householder who pays a thousand dollars to the gardener. I look at the flowers and I enjoy the beautiful colors to no end. In the springtime I see them just coming out and I watch them growing every day. Beautiful red and yellow and purple and orange flowers are blooming all over. I stop for a minute to study them. It’s a happiness!
You can keep your thousand dollars in your pocket and enjoy other people’s gardens. The whole Ocean Parkway, all the way down to Boro Park is all gardens, all happiness. Look at them, study them; it won’t cost you a penny. He’s breaking his back pulling up weeds and we pass by and we enjoy it to no end. The grass is beautiful; the colorful flowers are a pleasure to look at. Ah, ah, ah; how nice it is! Put all these things in your head and in your heart and become happy by looking at them.
The Fun Road to Perfection
And therefore, when we walk out into the world and we begin to see the things of the world, we must understand they are for us. They’re all for us. The fact that it’s for someone else too, that doesn’t detract. It’s for you. And by means of these noble thoughts you’re training yourself to enjoy yourself in this world the way Hakadosh Baruch Hu intended.
That’s the royal road to greatness! Isn’t that a fun road to perfection? Because while you’re working on developing gratitude and attaining perfection, you’re becoming happier and happier. You’re becoming an ashir, a rich man, without spending a penny. ירׁƒ ָ̆ﬠ הו∆יז≈‡? Who is rich? It’s up here (the Rav zatzal pointed at his head) that you find happiness. Your wealth is in your mind. And your money remains in your pocket.
