THE CREATIVE FLOW IS BACK

Friday March 24th 2023 | 2 Nissan 5783

HI!

I’m happy to report that I have found my creative flow again!!!!!! I really missed it. It got lost in a period of really freaking hard adulting, endless tiredness, and a not fun period of burnout. It seems like life likes to throw us some of the biggest challenges we face at the absolute worst times. Can anyone relate? If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s how to be reallllyyy resilient. I woke up yesterday morning and noticed it was the first of Nissan, the new lunar month that just started. In that moment, I knew the theme of this letter, and I would finally make the time to get creative and have some fun.

Nissan comes right after Adar (one of my fav months, all about joy, where we celebrate Purim and party so hard we don’t know the difference between Haman and Mordechai aka good and evil). I hope you partied hard last month in your own ways. Nissan is quite different than Adar. It’s the month where we celebrate Passover, yes the 14 day countdown is on (so sorry to freak out my Jewish professional friends working endlessly to create a meaningful Passover experience for your communities - you’ll get through this stressful time!!!)

Passover and Nissan have SO many great themes, the main one being freedom. In this month, we tell the story of the Israelites' big exodus from Egypt. Before we get to the celebratory part though, we have a strict order of events! A seder! That takes us through, one might say, a very mindful and senses based experience of what it was like for these Israelites to finally reach the feeling of freedom. We taste the maror (bitter herbs) that represent the suffering the Israelites experienced as slaves, we dip green karpas, a symbol of spring, into salt water to remember the tears that were shed, and we recline to recognize the importance of finally getting to rest. These are three of many symbols and rituals we engage in during the Passover Seder.

Okay Emily, where are you going with this?? I promise I have a point - the feeling of freedom. We’ve probably all felt this in some way shape or form, and we’ve all probably felt the exact opposite at some point in our lives too. In the story of Exodus, the Israelites are moving from Egypt, a place that most definitely does not feel like a safe and homey place to be, and they end up in Israel, a new homeland, a safe place to live their lives the way they want to live them.

For me, this semester has been filled with several ups and downs of feeling safe in my (now three times) flooded apartment! Woweee did not expect this when I moved into this beautiful apartment in August. I’ve felt all the emotions: the bitterness of the herbs, being so frustrated that all of this is happening, watching many of my things get ruined and my belongings going through quite the journey, the inability to recline in the way that I need, as I navigate my final semester of grad school, and now finally entering into the springtime, hoping that this season brings a new sense of freedom, but still getting drenched in salt water, because California just doesn’t want to stop raining yet!!!!

Three floods have not only flooded my apartment more than enough, these floods have impacted my physical, emotional, and mental well-being, and to be really freaking honest it’s been so hard!!! A friend texted me yesterday, “God gives their toughest battles to their strongest warriors” and boy did that resonate. Have I shown up as the best version of myself everyday this year? Definitely not. Am I learning how to navigate this battle as best as I can along the way? Yes, and as the new month of Nissan begins and a new season of Spring graces us with her presents (no more rain pleaseeee), I finally feel hopeful, energized, creative, and eager to embrace a feeling of freedom for myself as I prepare for the final five weeks of graduate school, a celebration of joy, and a summer of play.

During this month of Nissan and this Shabbat, I gift you with some questions to ponder, share with others, journal about with yourself, or return back to when you’re ready:

• Think of a time you didn’t feel free. This could be physical, mental, or emotional. How did it impact your well-being? What did you / are you doing to overcome this feeling?

• When you eat the bitter herbs during the Passover Seder, the taste of the horseradish can be quite strong and overwhelming in ways. However, it can do wonders clearing out your sinuses! How do you clear the spicy/sour/bitter/negative energy that arises when dealing with challenges?

• How do you like to celebrate joyous occasions?? Whether it’s a new month, a new season, or big life accomplishments, they are 1000% worth celebrating in a way that feels meaningful to you.

With that, I wish you the most meaningful Nissan, a beautiful start to spring, and the safety and support to embrace the freedom you deserve in whatever ways that looks like and feels like to you.

SHABBAT SHALOM AND HAPPY NISSAN!

Forever grateful for you.

Ethically,

Emily