I have an admission.

I've never been so great with counting Sefiras Ha'Omer. I think it may be because I was never successful at counting all the way until Shavuos, so I kind of gave up on trying at all. This has been a theme in my life regarding lots of things.

But, now that I've learned a little about the concept behind counting the days of Omer, I see that I've totally missed the point.

First of all, why don't we count down the days leading up to the receiving of the Torah? Like instead of counting 1, 2, 3..etc., we should count 50, 49, 48.... I mean, if you were looking forward to something BIG, wouldn't you count down to it?

According to Rabbanit Yemima Mizrahi, in her book Yemima Mizrahi Speaks, "If you live your life in anticipation for something to happen...you're not really living, because you're living with the reality of what you're lacking, instead of living with what you do have."

She continues, "Living with 'ayin' (what you're lacking) is like not living at all. It's kind of a death that doesn't allow you to appreciate your breath, your gifts, your life. Omer has the same numerical value as the word 'yesh' (what you have). In the Omer, we count what we have, and what we've gained from the days that have passed."

Hey, we all have things we are waiting for. It may be a shidduch, or a child. Or an acceptance to school, a better job, or a refua shelema for yourself or a loved one. And the waiting can be be so painful it's all we can focus on. We end up putting everything else on hold and stop living :(

But that's not what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to live right now! We have no idea what tomorrow will bring, so the power for change is in the NOW.

But how? Well, the human brain cannot process more than one emotion at the same time, so for me, the best way to start my day is to joyously say 10 things out loud that I'm thankful for the minute I wake up, before I even get out of bed. Believe me, sometimes the default when I wake up is a groan, as my conscious mind remembers all of my "ayins".  But I quickly switch it to, "Hey! 10 things you're grateful for....GO!" I really think about each thing on my list...that I can walk to the bathroom, that my bed is comfortable, that I slept, that I can see...anything, and everything. I really try to feel how lucky I am, and that inevitably turns into the start of a great day.

It really does work! No matter what's going on, or how lost we feel, we absolutely have the ability to wake up every day and move forward in creating our best lives, despite anything we may be lacking or suffering from.

And that's the next lesson I recently learned from Sefiras Ha'Omer: All we have to do is take one day at a time and place one step in front of the next, and before we know it, we will have climbed and accomplished so much! It's up to us to just do it, day by day, and not get discouraged or overwhelmed.

And so I've realized, Sefiras Haomer is all about exactly the opposite of why I've been lax with counting: That if we just take one day, one baby step, at a time, we CAN achieve anything.

Now, once we're positively stepping forward towards our greatest lives, we may as well do it in style. So....here are some fabulous Spring footwear inspirations to take you beautifully on your journey:

For more amazing inspiration, shop Rabanit Yemima Mizrahi's book right here:


I hope this post put some soul into your steps!

With loads of love....

Sharon