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We want to be seen in a positive light.
What if we're not?
Inside:
How to face REJECTION with DIGNITY🌿 |
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Dear friend עמ"ש,
Who decided that the summer months are a time of vacation? As a mother of teenagers, including yeshiva boys, it feels like this summer has been especially busy! Overnight camp started, then one yeshiva ended, then the other camp started, and it just seems like my people have been coming and going in delightful, constant waves :)
I’m grateful to be 53! My younger self would be waiting for the “real” summer (read: vacation) to start. And it would be like waiting for a train at a bus stop 🙃 Thankfully, I’m not waiting. Instead, I’m trying to enjoy the time with family, for all that it is or isn’t.
I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Wishing you all the best this week, and always!
Love,
Shterna 🌷 |
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✨ This week’s Spark of Clarity...
This week, Sparks of Clarity is also becoming a podcast! We're launching an 8-part series, each episode built around a real-life challenge, with insight and tools to help you work through it.
Here's a taste of what's inside episode one:
Have you ever had someone spread rumors about you?
Even though this didn't happen to me, I have seen first-hand the utter devastation and brokenness that's caused when a person is the subject of gossip.
A woman in the Inner Clarity course is in the thick of this challenge, and she asked me how she could stop caring about what others think. The question is relatable to everyone, because we all know the frustration and pain of being misunderstood and judged negatively.
The truth is that we can't get ourselves to stop caring, because as humans, we'll always care. The only way forward is to strengthen our own inner sense of strength, safety, and dignity. With that, we could hold ourselves and take care of ourselves as we move forward.
Listen to the full 15-minute recording on Spotify or on our hotline.
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💛Put into practice...
When you're misunderstood and judged, or the subject of rumors 💔, here are 5 things you could do to help yourself:
1) See yourself as Hashem sees you. Try to absorb the fact that right now, you are being seen with intense, powerful, unconditional love, by Hashem Himself. Visualize it. Sit with it.
2) Clarify and strengthen your own positive beliefs about yourself. Ask yourself: What do I appreciate about myself? Write down your answers, which can be parts of your personality, or even little things you did today. Every day, read your list, and think about what you can add.
3) Don't eat noodles out of other people's minds. It's not emotionally "hygienic" to get into other people's thoughts. When you find yourself thinking about what others might be thinking about you, gently bring your attention back to what YOU want to think about your own self.
4) Join a learning group. Get into a room with other women who are learning and growing. If you have even one friend or neighbor who wants to join you in this effort, you already have a group.
5) Take 100% responsibility for the less than 1% fact of your own weakness. Look for a teeny tiny .01% of where you have room to grow, and own it. Don't do this in context of the other person's hurtful actions. Do it because learning and growing is a gift you can give yourself.
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💌Now it's your turn!
I am SO excited about connecting with you through these newsletters!
And I'd love to include your thoughts -- your voice -- in this space!
As you read this newsletter or listened to the "Sparks of Clarity" podcast, what thoughts came up for you?
Hearing from you would be so much fun for me (it would tell me that we are connecting here!) Plus, it would make this space more of a community discussion.
So, please hit reply and share your thoughts.
I read every email and I'll be waiting for yours! |
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Something to look forward to...
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✨ Sparks of Clarity
Our 8-part series “Sparks of Clarity” is just getting started! Look out for meaningful, relatable topics such as:
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How could I get my child to stop feeling so anxious?
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Shterna, are we really meant to be feeling our emotions the way you describe? When I do that, I feel worse, and not better.
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I am dreading Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. I wish I could appreciate this time of year, but how?
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🔥Tanya in Real Life!
Every Thursday at 11:00 AM ET, we learn the classic sefer Tanya as it relates to our daily lives and relationships. Our group is diverse, and the class is followed by interactive discussion. Join live or catch the latest recording on our website, through Spotify, or through our hotline (call 718-307-1100 → option 6, 3, and then 4 for the current series).
You've been getting emails on Thursday mornings with a short message about what we're learning, along with the link to join. Do you want to continue getting those emails? If yes, just click here and let us know :)
Starting in September, we will only send the Tanya emails to you if you opt in, so make sure to let us know if you want them!
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📍Local Boro Park Community Events
Is Moshiach a reality or a faraway dream? This summer, over 30 women changed the way they think about the geula by participating in a fascinating course with Mrs. Nechama Sheikevitz. Knowledge is always empowering, and when it’s about a foundational topic, it’s even more meaningful. The learning took away misconceptions and fears, replacing it with clarity, direction, and anticipation.
Here is some of the feedback:
“It was so meaningful to be around the table with women who carved out time to focus on a topic that is so important, yet we never think about it.”
– Sara
“I learned so much, and we had great conversations! It was nice to fill myself up in this way.”
– Chana
“This elevated my summer. Everything was still the same, I still did the same things, but it all felt more uplifted because of the new perspectives I gained.”
– Perel
Be part of our amazing community IN PERSON!
If you live in Boro Park and you didn’t hear about this course, it’s because we don’t know your zip code!
Please reply with your zip code and you’ll hear about local events before they happen 🙂
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📩 From our inbox...
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Dear Shterna,
I live in Monroe and would really appreciate joining a book discussion group. Do you know of any group in my area?
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friend, do you know of a group in your area?
Every week, we get at least one email or phone call asking for information about a group. We want to start keeping a list, so that we could help people find each other. Please be part of this effort!
Reply to this email and let me know about a group near you :)
Thank you in advance!
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This is the end of this week's newsletter, so I'm reminding you again to please hit reply and share your thoughts!
Here's to our continued learning and growing together! 💕
Shterna
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