Hanukkah just ended. Christmas just passed. The new year is coming.
This time of year - between holidays, between years - does something to us.
We go home from family gatherings replaying the conversations.
Not just what was said, but how it was said. The tone. The facial expressions. The look on the face of the person receiving it all.
And then the questions that keep us up at night: Did they get what I meant? Did I understand what THEY meant?
Because here's the thing: What people mean to express and what actually lands can be worlds apart.
Sometimes it's the language barrier - people like me speaking our second language and we can't find the words fast enough, can't capture the exact thought the exact way we would in our native language.
But many times it has nothing to do with that. I see it everywhere. People speaking their first language, and still - what they meant and what landed? Completely different.
Sometimes it's not choosing the right words. Sometimes it's the delivery. Sometimes it's just... the gap between what's in your heart and what comes out.
And that gap? It creates distance. Even when you're sitting right next to each other.
But here's what I know to be true:
The gap doesn't close just because you have more words. It closes when you show up with empathy, with kindness, with an open heart for the person receiving your message.
That's what makes the intention land. That's what builds bridges. That's what creates true connection and helps you and the person you're communicating with feel like you belong. You are seen. You are loved.
This week - between holidays, between years, in this quiet space where we're all replaying what was said and what landed - I'm want to express to you - in the best words I can find in my second language - how grateful I am.
Grateful to be a messenger of this work.
Grateful to be able to help create bridges of understanding, of connection.
Grateful to help people feel that they truly belong. I know just how precious that is.
And most of all, I'm grateful for YOU.
For this incredible community of like-minded people who share values of self-growth, kindness, and open hearts.
You're here because you want to connect. To be understood. To be part of what matters to you. And that's everything.
As we head into a new year, I want you to know:
Closing that gap - between what you mean and what lands - is more doable than you think. And here's what makes the real difference:
When you come with empathy, kindness, and open heart - it all lands better. That's beyond words. Beyond grammar. Beyond pronunciation. And it matters whether you're speaking your first language or your second.
Shabbat Shalom
Inbal Amit
Hebrew by Inbal