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Hi Reader,

I've been thinking lately about the freedom "from" vs. the freedom "to," and how each feels in my body.

The mainstream culture I was raised in is obsessed with freedom from. Freedom from rules and restraints, freedom from having to consider the good of the collective, freedom from accountability and responsibility.

If this sounds like individualism, that's because it is. This kind of freedom from sits heavy in my body because I feel in my soul everyone and everything that gets sacrificed to this obsession-- those who are robbed of self-determination, safety, and life, and the earth, which can't keep up with the rate it's being pillaged.
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On the other hand, I feel such lightness, possibility, and life in the idea of freedom to. Here are a few of my favorites

• Freedom for everyone to flourish.
• Freedom to direct resources to the good of the collective instead of to only a few.
• Freedom to receive medical and psychological care when needed because we've created a society of safety nets for all.
• Freedom to build a thriving culture of art.
• Freedom to partner with the earth and live according to natural cycles.
• Freedom to have a thriving life outside work because less energy has to be funneled toward surviving.

Of course, freedom from and freedom to are two sides of the same coin. But I'm focused on freedom from individualistic, profit-centered values so that all of us have freedom to bloom.
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What is your body craving freedom “to”?

Let's start imagining the kind of world that would support that.
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In connection,

Joy

Action for Palestine

Each week I'm going to try to include a small action step we can take to support people living and dying in genocide.

This week I'm focused on Palestinians who are enduring forced starvation. Hamad Sho, a Gazan food blogger, now spends his time using whatever ingredients he can find to cook huge pots of food for his community.

To make this possible, he asks that we donate to Watermelon Relief, "a group of activists in Gaza who aid displaced families with meals, support, and activities."

You can contribute here.​

Hamad Sho's Instagram: @hamadashoo

Watermelon Relief's Instagram: @watermelonrelief​

Other things I've been thinking about (on Instagram)

• ​My response to the meme, "If you were stuck in the woods, would you rather be alone with a man or a bear?"
• INFJs (and everyone) are powerful when we feel the mythic proportions of our emotions.​
• The INFJ flow state and what gets in the way (the what gets in the way part applies to everyone's flow state!).

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Welcome to my Free Stuff
​Instagram​
​Interviewed on The Ego Project Podcast: Joy Malek on the INFJ Type (Plus the personality theory that goes beyond MBTI)​
​Interviewed on the Campfire Circle Podcast: Find Your Niche by Serving Your Past Self​
​Article: The INFJ Drive for Self-Preservation​
​INFJ Personality Poster PDF / Newsletter Signup​
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​Welcome to my Paid Stuff
​​From Heartache to Connection: 6 Strategies for Growing Secure Attachment​
​The In Depth Personality Type Library​
​Good Goodbyes: A Creative Practice for Cultivating Peace in Loss​
​Emotions Live in the Body: A Somatic-Intuitive Practice for Processing Pain​