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 …
My friend and travel buddy is getting married in August, so last week we took advantage of our freedom and headed up to the Laurentians for two days. “Two?!” you ask, incredulously. “That long drive up the Thruway for only two days’ vacation?” To that I answer, “Absolutely! This place and I go way back. It was worth every …
Here is a journaling technique from Journal to the Self, by Kathleen Adams, called “Perspectives.” This is a great technique to try if you want to break out of the feeling of “stuckness” and see different aspects of your life with fresh eyes. Some ideas of how to write from a new perspective: When making a decision, write as …
I’ve been blogging for about a year and a half now (this was my first post and here is more on how it all got started), and so I wrote a bit about what goes on behind the scenes. Here is a little interview with myself: Why a blog? Because it’s the easiest and most independent way to just …
My sister says that her seminary teacher says,
We’re pretty big on giving advice around here ;-). But it’s been a number of years since I came home from seminary, and I’ve thought about the things that would have been helpful to hear at age 19. It’s quite possible that I actually did hear them but just didn’t internalize them at the time. I do remember that that …
Here’s what I love about being an adult: you can do things. Not that you have to do things, but that you have the power to do them if you really want to. If you don’t like your job or your field, you can change it. If you want to ditch everyone and check into a hotel for a week, …
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 …
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 …
I heard the following from Mrs. Dina Schoonmaker. How do we achieve menuchas hanefesh? We learn it from menuchas Shabbos. No matter what’s going on, we stop doing our work when Shabbos comes and it’s “as if it has already been done” (Rashi). Well, what if it’s not? Say you’re in Israel and you have a business partner in America. …
