Book Buffet
I like to always have a variety of books checked out of the library, even if I don’t have time to read them all. I often dip in and out of various books, and it’s pleasant just having them around for company. I call this my book buffet.
When You Don’t Feel Happy For a Friend
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:
Alternate Careers
A fun journaling prompt from The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron had me writing a list of five alternate careers. I used the prompt twice, a few months apart, and here is my list in total:
The Voice of Perfection
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 …
NYC Spring
The weather is getting beautiful, the days are longer, and my schedule is opening. I’m excited to get back into taking myself on little day trips. Here are a few places I want to go in NYC:
Things Do Change
I’ve noticed that May tends to be a month of important changes for me (a few dating parshas, my move), and each year as May approaches, I wonder what new development is headed my way. Two friends recently pointed out, separately, that as much as we often feel stuck and as if we are spinning our wheels (in shidduchim …
Commitment
I enjoyed the book Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing, by Pete Davis. The book explores the challenges and benefits of committing to a cause, community, person, or craft for the long haul, in the face of seemingly infinite options. This little episode made me think:
Fun Fact
Before a work luncheon, we each had to submit a fun fact about ourselves for a guessing game. Here’s mine: I cannot drink caffeinated coffee. I start to visibly shake and can’t write or type! I even react to the coffee in coffee yogurt. I know a few other people like this, any of you? (People tell me they are …
How Was Pesach?
Pesach here was very busy. B”H. And went so fast! I read Bartholomew and the Oobleck far too many times, lol. My sister bought a collection of I Spy books for the kids, but I found myself turning to them over and over throughout Y”T. They are surprisingly restful and meditative, not to mention 90’s nostalgic. I was also blown …
Hope
I am reading essays in the Rabbi Jonathan Sacks hagaddah, and am struck by another recurring theme: hope. I have been thinking a lot about hope over the past year, what it is and what sustains it and how to help it grow. The following are beautiful words from Rabbi Sacks z”l: