There is so much goodness built-in to the natural function of the world, says Maimonides. Think about it:
We cannot live more than a few minutes without oxygen, and there it is, all around us, plentiful and free.
Water. We wouldn't manage for more than a few days without it. It is also widely available and at little or no cost.
Food. We can get by a little longer without food, commensurately, it is quite readily attainable for just a modest amount of effort or expense.
You see, says Maimonides, the world is not nearly as bad as people tend to make it out to be - on the contrary it is quite good. But it is up to us to bring it to its full potential.
Courtesy of this week's JLI class.