On Living with Your Parents

So, no, this is not an easy thing to be doing in your twenties or beyond.   The manager at my bank branch always asks me if I’m still living at home. “Actually, yes.” “Smart girl!” she says. “Stay there as long as you can.” And I’m like, “Thanks, Candace.”   But seriously, there’s this tug-of-war. On the one hand, …

Personality Typing, Again (Plus Succos)

Remember how I said that I was skeptical about the validity of personality typing? Well, Myers-Briggs changed that for me, and now I’ve discovered something new: the Enneagram. Are you familiar with it? The Enneagram is a system that examines nine personality types, and their strengths and weaknesses, growth opportunities etc. I bought a copy of The Enneagram Made Easy …

Just Saying

Wouldn’t you know, I almost never read magazines but this Shabbos I was visiting a friend and on her couch was a copy of Family First. I’m glad I picked it up because it had not one but two articles of interest to me.   First of all…did you read that article about therapeutic writing and Journal to the Self?? …

A Wedding Gift for a Friend

I wanted to get a really special wedding gift for my friend who is getting married soon but I couldn’t think of just the right thing. Nothing I thought of felt original or personal enough. Inspiration hit a couple of weeks ago: how about making her a book? Not strictly a cookbook, but more like a collection of advice and …

Someone Else’s Business

I recently read the most helpful advice in a book that my social worker friend recommended. (She always has the wisest and best advice, and this book did not disappoint). From Loving What Is, by Byron Katie:   I can find only three kinds of business in the universe: mine, yours, and G-d’s. (…Anything that’s out of my control, your control, …

Prayer Balance

A thought occurred to me over vacation (long car ride, many thoughts). 🙂 How do we maintain perspective and see our lives with a broad lens when it’s so natural to focus on the things we don’t have? Maybe we can learn this balance from tefillah.  A complete formulation of tefillah includes shevach, hoda’ah, and bakasha — praise, thanks, and …

Regret

There was a time this year when I faced serious regret over a decision I had made. That whole tekufah was a huge growth experience for me and required me to stretch my emunah and confront challenges more than I’d been pushed to before. There were some amazing people who supported and comforted me, and helped me recognize that everything …

How To Be an Active Member of Klal Yisroel

Here are some of my reflections on the topic, if you’d like to read…   Seek to be mechazek. Lend your ears without interrupting. Share divrei emunah. If you aren’t a source of chizuk, try to become one.   Seek to be a positive influence. You are looked up to by more people than you realize, just because you are …

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