Right, so there was no 1/13 edition but I want to keep track of the thirteen weeks of summer so I will number my weekly updates like this.
Before going any further, I need to acknowledge how trite this will all seem given the situation in Israel. I wrote this post yesterday afternoon and am still sharing it but I recognize where it fits in the scope of everything going on. 💙
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The Summer Newsletter is a Friday wrap-up where I can share an assortment of updates, glimmers, musings, etc. to stay connected with you and my blog this season. Thank you for being here!
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I started The Artist’s Way process and am completing some of the exercises each week, which is so enjoyable. The book is intended to help with “creative recovery” but what I am using it for is more like “authenticity recovery.” I am in a process of connecting more with who I truly am and what I truly need. This is an internal process; it’s mostly about my mindset and believing that I’m not too much — or, as I wrote in my Morning Pages, knowing that I am too much and that’s perfectly fine.
Another one of the weekly exercises is the Artist Date, which is to do something by yourself once a week that feels like play. The first week I walked the High Line, the second week I saw a three-person performance of Pride and Prejudice (I bought the ticket awhile back but it worked out well for an Artist Date), and this week I went to Barnes and Noble and looked at guidebooks and cookbooks. I saw this one which looked both cute and delicious. (I never got back into cooking after moving out of my first apartment but I like the idea of being into cooking).
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One of my favorite self-help books is Happier Hour by Cassie Holmes, about using time management and planning to increase your happiness and wellbeing. Recently, I listened to her conversation with Laura Vanderkam and she mentions something I hadn’t thought much about when I read the book but made more of an impression hearing it now. This is the suggestion to think about how many opportunities you may have to do something in your life and to recognize the preciousness of what may seem ordinary.
When I left the Pride and Prejudice show last week, the evening was warm and dry and I had the thought that I might not have many opportunities to walk down Madison Avenue on a summer evening without a care — so that’s what I did. (The city was hopping at 9:30, no safety concern getting to the bus).
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I really enjoyed this podcast episode on frum minimalism (interview is at :15).
Have a good Shabbos!
(Photo credit: Marco Antonio Victorino/Pexels)
