I started listening recently to Daily Bitachon with Michael Safdie, a businessman who learns and teaches a short lesson a day on bitachon. My aunt turned me on to it, and though I hadn’t felt pulled specifically to learn this topic, I’m finding that it is giving me oxygen.
The word “acceptance” can feel like sneaky code for resignation or defeat. What does it truly mean to accept your situation as it is? To me, it means moving forward with wishes and plans in a manner that acknowledges and integrates reality as it is now, without fighting it.
Many of us have a “frequent flyer” shidduch suggestion that keeps coming up, and in my case, the answer is “Yes, we know about each other, he isn’t interested…” For context, he lives near me, he went out with my cousin,
My friend used this analogy to describe what it feels like to be in a difficult situation unfolding on its own timeline. There’s not much you can do (i.e. nothing) to shorten the timeframe; what you can do is find ways to make the process more tolerable.
I recently wrote an alphapoem for my current writing course and want to share the process with you. An alphapoem is similar to an acrostic in that you write a word or phrase vertically down the left side of your page and use it to write your poem. However, whereas an acrostic purposely begins each line with the next letter …
I’m rereading a book I posted about years ago, Love Will Find You by Kathryn Alice. (I must dig up my Soulmate Journal and do the exercises again). I was struck by this sentiment:
My married cousin asked me this question last Motzoei Shabbos after we spent a large part of Shabbos afternoon talking about what I am looking for, my dating experiences, etc. I thought it was a clever question, and I am still thinking about it. How much of me identifies as someone in shidduchim as opposed to all the other things …
My cousin made an insightful comment over Pesach: when she is with other people’s children, she tries to aim for yes. As she put it, “Kids hear ‘no’ so often, and if you’re spending time with them, it feels amazing to them when you say ‘yes’ where you can.” As in, yes, you can run to the corner and wait …
Sometimes it is hard for me to feel happy for someone else’s simcha, even when intellectually I want to be, and I care about their happiness. What is it? I had a few thoughts:
We all have our struggles that make shidduchim uniquely challenging and painful for each of us. I have struggled mightily with feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy: How do I know that I’m trying hard enough, pushing and stretching myself enough (whatever that means), being open enough (whatever that means)? When I was davening at the Kosel in February, I felt …
