8 Days of Worthiness

We have been thinking about Chanuka a lot - of its symbolism of light, hope, and renewal. Throughout the themes of the holiday, there is these ideas of triumph against all odds and of overcoming tremendous obstacles.

But we also recognize how these ideas can be incredibly triggering to the fertility community. What if this is the second, third, or seventh Chanukah when things still haven’t gone your way? What if you were finally able to get pregnant, but that pregnancy ended in a loss? What if you found the right surrogate, but she is unavailable at the time you need? What if no one understands your longing for a child, even amidst the pain? What if you’re so scared to get pregnant because you don’t know what another baby will mean for your already tenuous health, marriage, or sanity? What if your hope that you’ll ever get married (and finally start a family) is beginning to dwindle?

We offer you IWSTHAB’s 8 Days Of Worthiness.

No matter where you are on this journey, you are worthy of it all. You are worthy of expecting others to treat you with kindness, and you are worthy of having nice things for yourself too.

One more idea -
During a study at Harvard in the 1950s, Dr. Curt Richter placed rats in a pool of water to test how long they could tread water.

On average, they'd give up and sink after 15 minutes.

But right before they gave up due to exhaustion, the researchers would pluck them out, dry them off, let them rest for a few minutes - and put them back in for a second round.

On this second try - how long do you think they lasted?

Remember - they had just swam until failure only a few minutes ago...

How long do you think?

Another 15 minutes?

10 minutes?

5 minutes?

No!

60 hours!

That's not an error.

That's right! 60 hours of swimming.

The conclusion drawn was that since the rats BELIEVED that they would eventually be rescued, they could push their bodies way past what they previously thought impossible.

I will leave you with this thought:

If hope can cause exhausted rats to swim for that long, what could a belief in yourself and your worthiness do for you?

Follow along each day and learn about your worthiness.