One of the most famous teachings of the founder of the Hasidic Movement, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) is that from everything one hears or sees, one should learn a teaching for one's service to God.
This idea is based on the Talmudic saying that of everything God created in the world, He created nothing in vain, so that even the seemingly irrelevant situations one faces were created to provide lessons.
We will present two examples, given by the Rebbe of Kotzk (1787-1859):
1) There are three things one should learn from a baby: a) always be cheerful, b) never stop, never rest and always be attentive to one's affairs, c) when one wants something, open one's mouth in cries (to God).
2) There are three rules in the game of checkers and also in man's relationship with God. a) you can only advance, b) you must advance house by house, step by step, c) if you reach the end, you become a king.
It is part of Jewish life to always be attentive to the messages that God sends us through his infinite messengers.