There is a Jewish fairy tale about how Hashem gathered Himself [Ein Sof] into ten jars or vessels before He created the world. As He spoke those first words, "Let there be light," the ten vessels broke scattering the light of the Ein Sof throughout the physical world. It is now our role to find this light, to find it within ourselves and others, and let it shine to bring glory back to Hashem. I have written before about how I feel and know that it is my role on this Earth to write, ...
Musings
Wasted Love: Raging INFJ Pt. 4
I think all my Raging INFJ posts have lead to this point, to this dramatic declaration which beats at the heart of all INFJs. We despise door slamming, letting go, saying goodbye -- we rage for one reason and one reason alone: we fear our love being wasted. As Mirren so poignantly reminded me on Twitter, "When I love, I love." Her words sparked a burgeoning idea, which I felt compelled to write, knowing all my own rage lead to this interconnected epiphany. When an INFJ says, "When I ...
Saying Goodbye: Raging INFJ Pt. 3
Believe me, I did not intend on writing a three-part series about Raging INFJs. However, days later as I muse on what I've written, I find there is more to say. Always. You see, letting go of someone or door slamming them usually results in pain. Few times does it result from something good, mutual, beneficial. But saying goodbye? That's just the opposite. Saying goodbye occurs when two parties realise one or both of their lives are diverting, and the path they have walked either ...
Letting Go: Raging INFJ Pt. 2
I mentioned in my last post, Raging INFJ, there is a difference between the infamous INFJ "door slam" and simply letting people go. To follow up, I want to add a few musings. Primarily, my motivation behind letting someone go is the realisation I am the only party in this so called "relationship" who is putting forth any effort into maintaining contact, dialogue, interaction, etc.; so much so it takes extraneous efforts to sustain my own initiating. We INFJs are not initiators. I think we ...
Raging INFJ
You know what stereotype of INFJs I hate most? The one which says we're special snowflakes, rare unicorns, or pure cinnamon rolls which must be protected at all costs because we hate conflict and run at the sight of blood. B.S. Okay, yes, sure. I admit to hating conflict, but only when it's petty, unresolved, malicious, etc. Conflict which seeks to destroy, not to establish truth. There is a version of healthy conflict which exists. I mean, do we INFJs not wrestle with our own souls ...
What’s on My Shelf: The Sisters of the Winter Wood
I promised to gush, and so I finally shall... Though I haven't updated "What's on My Shelf" recently, implying I have far more books to review than the title indicates, there is one book in particular which I have been needing to discuss for quite some time. As the Gregorian year comes to its close, I find myself looking back at all the books I have read in the past year, and even further to whenever I began this blog, asking myself which were my favourites. While there are a few which ...
Writing Jewish: Modern Day Fantasy Literature
Friendship...is born at the moment when one man says to another, 'What! You too? I thought that no one but myself...' C.S. Lewis You know that moment when after thinking for so long you were alone in your pursuits, dreams, and ideals you must be crazy, only to realise you're not the only one; that there are others like you who desire to see the same ideals actualised into reality? That happened to me this past weekend. Two months ago, I sat in on a class about modern Jewish Literature, ...
What if the Problem is Me?
Obviously, I'm not doing a good job with writing right now. At all. Sure, I admitted I would be taking somewhat of a hiatus, but only as an afterthought. I've also mentioned before how I've been overwhelmingly busy, and part of it was the month of High Holy Days, with no little amount of stress involved. However, what's the first thing which stopped in this situation, which usually is the first thing to stop in similar situations? Writing. I hate this, that this is what I do. Does ...
Blog Hiatus
It's appalling how much time has passed since I last wrote... In my defence –– as I too often iterate at the beginning of these posts due to my guilt and the seeming accountability blogging creates –– it was the Jewish High Holy Days last month, so I was a tad bit busy. Tonight being the first free evening I had in too long, I felt the need, the longing, the itch to write. Something. Anything. Over the holidays, I tried my best to relax, breathe, have little to no commitments, and ...
Musings before the New Year
As I'm sitting here at home on this lovely rainy, September day, sick with who knows what, I'm grateful for this bit of quiet in my recently much noisy life, a life which keeps me from this, what I love most. It reminds me what this season is all about, of preparing one's soul for the coming New Year on Rosh Hashanah as we enter the courts of our King and ask Him to pardon us from all sins, iniquities, and unrighteousness from the past year. How? I have books to write reviews for, ...
