Instead of remembering the pain of the past, it’s time for us to realize that we can create a much better future by simply taking care of it. We each have the potential to make things better for ourselves and for everyone around us. We can enhance our experience as soon as we recognize how amazing it is that we all live together on this one little planet that spins and travels around the sun.

All we have to do is make a commitment to make life better! Every day, in whatever we have to do that day, we have to have the intention to do something that will benefit someone in the world, or will benefit the planet itself.

It’s amazing how many people think that they have to see what they can get out of this life—how much money they can make or how many things or people they can control—but when we’re ready to face each day with the intention to do something good for others, we’ll find that we can experience a wonderful feeling of joy that resonates within us.

So, the next time you feel a little low, do something good for someone else—a phone call, a gift, even a smile, can make another person’s day a little brighter. Then notice how good you feel. Try it—it always works!

In case you think I’m just writing a self-help article, think again. This was the philosophy of Rabbi Yehuda Lev Ashlag, who lived in Jerusalem until he left the world in 1955. He explained, throughout his writings, that we should acknowledge that we are always receiving everything that God is constantly giving to us—like air, and water, and soil to grow our food—and then, he teaches, we should start to emulate God, and learn how to give.