Rolene Jaffe: Multi-Faceted Therapist

06/16/2025

Aging is not for the faint of heart.
One day, you wake up and realize — youth has quietly slipped away.
But it didn’t leave alone.
It took with it your insecurities, your rush to please, your fear of not being enough.
And in its place?
It left you with something stronger:
A slower pace, but a steadier step.
The wisdom to say goodbye without fear.
The grace to cherish those who choose to stay.
The power to be you, unapologetically.
Aging isn’t about losing — it’s about letting go.
It’s about learning to accept, to release, and to truly see:
That beauty was never just in the mirror…
It lived in every story, scar, and silent strength we carried within.
Aging is a gift. Wear it with dignity.

~ Meryl Streep
Echoes of Insight

02/25/2025

I have many tools ⚒️ in my toolbox. 🧰 This has been a life changer.

THE LET THEM THEORY

Are you familiar with the “Let Them” theory?
I’ll tell you friends the more I grow the more I am okay with accepting the “Let Them” in my own life and relationships.

This is something that took me a very long time to learn. I used to tolerate a lot because I didn't want to lose people. But I learned the hard way if they were really my people, they would never treat me like that. Don't make the mistake of being so understanding and forgiving that you overlook the fact that you're being repeatedly disrespected.

Let them be upset.
Let them judge you.
Let them misunderstand you.
Let them gossip about you,
Let them ignore you.
Let them be "right."
Let them doubt you.
Let them not like you.
Let them not speak to you.
Let them run your name in the ground.
Let them make you out to be the villain.

Whatever it is that people want to say about you, let them!
Kindly step aside and LET THEM.

The hard truth is they know how much they are hurting you. And they just simply don't care. They did it knowing it could cause them to lose you. And they did it anyway. People that love you care about how they make you feel. The end. Let them go.

There will be people that would rather lose you than be honest about what they've done to you. Let them go.

The lack of respect was the closure. The lack of apology was the closure. The lack of care was the closure. The lack of accountability was the closure. The lack of honesty was the closure. Let them go.

Make the decision to no longer sit at tables where you might be the topic when you get up. Let them go.

You can still be kind. You can even still love them deeply. But do it from the distance they created in their words and actions. Access to you is a privilege they have proven they can’t be trusted with. Let them go.

You don’t need to tell your side of the story. God already knows. Let God fight the battle for you. Let them go.

It’s taken me a long time to get here. Sleepless nights, countless tears, managing a range of emotions filled with anger, disappointment, confusion and deep hurt. Lots of self-reflection, self-preservation, deep prayer and seeking wisdom from those much wiser than me.

If you are struggling with this, please know you are not alone. We will never understand why hurt people hurt people. But we can do the hard work to grow ourselves. Because healed people do in fact heal people.

Don’t you dare let them steal your joy.
Don’t you dare let them steal your light.
Don’t you dare let them steal your peace.
You are in control of that.

Hold tight to what you can control and release your grip on what you can’t control.
Let them go.

~ Mel Robbins

11/21/2024

Ernest Hemingway once said:
When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling.
It’s a rare and profound gift to be fully present with someone, and yet, it’s something so few of us truly offer. Most people only half-listen, their minds already formulating their next words, distracted by their own thoughts, or zoning out entirely.
Imagine how powerful it would be if we listened more deeply—if we made a commitment to being fully engaged, to hearing and understanding not just the words, but the emotions and intentions behind them. Listening isn’t just about waiting for your turn to speak; it’s about absorbing what someone else is sharing and making them feel heard, valued, and understood. It’s about connecting on a level deeper than surface conversations, because when you truly listen, you open a door to empathy and genuine connection. And isn’t that what we’re all really longing for?
Beyond listening, there is also the art of observing, of truly noticing the world around you. When you walk into a room, take a moment to soak in everything. Notice the details—the way the sunlight filters through the windows, the color of the walls, the expressions on people’s faces, the way someone is nervously tapping their foot or laughing with their eyes more than their mouth. Most of us rush through spaces, our minds preoccupied and our eyes barely registering what’s in front of us. But there’s magic in paying attention, in being mindful of the small details that make every moment unique.
Think of the room not just as a physical space, but as an experience. Every room has a mood, a feeling, an energy. It could be the coziness of a room filled with laughter, the tension of a space where a difficult conversation just took place, or the warmth of a place that holds beautiful memories. The more we tune in to these subtle feelings, the more deeply we can understand our surroundings and the people in them. What gave you that feeling? Was it the way someone’s eyes lit up when they smiled? The scent of freshly brewed coffee that brought a sense of comfort? Or perhaps the distant echo of a song that stirred up a forgotten memory?
Being observant and emotionally aware in this way takes practice, but it also transforms the way you move through life. You become more sensitive, more attuned, more aware. You start to notice the way a friend’s voice softens when they’re talking about something they love, or the slight shift in someone’s tone when they’re hiding something. You begin to see and feel things that others miss entirely, and that awareness can lead to a richer, more connected experience of the world.
It’s a beautiful thing to be a person who listens with their heart, who observes deeply, and who feels fully. It means you’re not just drifting through life; you’re living it intentionally. You’re soaking in the fullness of each moment, aware of the beauty and complexity around you. It means you understand people better, because you’ve made the effort to see and hear them, to pick up on the nuances of their being. It means you can be the kind of person whose presence feels calming, because people know you’re truly there with them, not just waiting for your turn to talk or half-heartedly engaging.
So, when you’re in conversation, let go of the urge to plan your next statement. Take a breath, relax your mind, and give the person speaking your undivided attention. Let yourself be present, fully. When you walk into a room, slow down and really see it. Observe the details, feel the energy, notice the small things that make that moment unique. You’ll find that life becomes richer, fuller, and more meaningful when you learn to listen and observe completely. It’s not just about hearing words or seeing objects—it’s about feeling the fullness of everything around you. It’s about experiencing life, deeply and completely.
-
What do you believe we miss out on when we’re not fully present, and how does that impact our relationships and experiences
Credit goes to the owner

11/07/2024

Originally post by Venis Williams
Minister and Cultural/Spiritual Midwife at CLARA Healing Institute in Wisconsin

You are awakening to the
same country you fell asleep to.
The very same country.

Pull yourself together.

And,
when you see me,
do not ask me
"What do we do now?
How do we get through the next four years?"

Some of my Ancestors dealt with
at least 400 years of this
under worse conditions.

Continue to do the good work.
Continue to build bridges not walls.
Continue to lead with compassion.
Continue the demanding work
of liberation for all.
Continue to dismantle broken systems,
large and small.
Continue to set the best example
for the children.
Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy.

Continue right where you are.
Right where you live into your days.

Do so in the name of
The Creator who expects
nothing less from each of us.

And if you are not "continuing"
ALL of the above,
in community, partnership, collaboration?
What is it you have been doing?
What is it you are waiting for?

10/23/2024

October is breast cancer awareness month 🎀

Check out aohsandysprings’s video.

10/17/2024

By Changing Your Thinking,
You change your beliefs;
When you change your beliefs,
You change your expectations;
When you change your expectations,
You change your attitude;
When you change your attitude,
You change your behaviour;
When you change your behaviour,
You change your performance;
When you change your performance;
You Change Your LIFE
And when you give up beliefs you are FREE!🆓

10/10/2024

The Centre of Sacred Death Care:

A funeral is designed to help you with your grieving, and your presence there also helps the family with theirs.

Part of integrating a death is “inventorying” all the parts of the person we’ve lost. Everybody who comes to a funeral helps the bereaved family fill in that picture. We remind them who their person was, how they touched people, what they accomplished, etc.

When people come to a funeral, it also tells the family that their person mattered, and that their loss is real. When we take time off work, or fly across the country, or put on our funeral clothes, we tell the family that their person mattered.

If you’re wondering if you should go to a funeral, you probably should. But don’t slip in and out anonymously. Make sure the family knows who you are. Introduce yourself in the receiving line, bring a card with a few lines of explanation and a story sharing who the person was to you, sign the register.

Your presence helps helps people feel their loved one more deeply, and that’s important for healing.

10/10/2024

10/08/2024

To love someone long-term is to attend a thousand funerals of the people they used to be. The people they're too exhausted to be any longer. The people they grew out of, the people they never ended up growing into. We so badly want the people we love to get their spark back when it burns out, to become speedily found when they are lost.
But it is not our job to hold anyone accountable to the people they used to be. It is our job to travel with them between each version and to honor what emerges along the way. Sometimes it will be an even more luminescent flame. Sometimes it will be a flicker that temporarily floods the room with a perfect and necessary darkness. ~Heidi Priebe

(Book: This Is Me Letting You Go https://amzn.to/47Uv102 [ad])

(Art: Painting by Kayoon Anderson)

10/07/2024

https://youtu.be/hw3cBwBT1s4?si=aAUc3xNbb7R5y_w-

Nearly a year after the horrific events of October 7 2023, a group of enthusiastic South African Zionists, both Jewish and not Jewish, came together as one t...