Category: Uncategorized
-
When Your Imagination Turns Every Problem into a Crisis
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” ~Mark Twain It started with a clogged kitchen drain. Or maybe the drain was where everything else I’d been carrying finally surfaced. Regardless, the water wasn’t moving. It was so bad that some of it backed up in the bathroom sink. Baking…
-
The Pressure to Excel: When Success Feels Like Survival
“To tie your worth to achievements is a recipe for suffering.” ~Brad Bizjack Children don’t just learn mathematics, science, and languages in school. They also learn what success feels like, what failure means, who they believe they are, and sometimes, whether they think they belong. When I was in primary school, my school introduced academic…
-
How “Missing the Boat” Led Me Somewhere Better
A few months ago, I found myself wondering whether I had made a mistake. It is not a question I expected to be asking in my seventies. Like many people my age, I sometimes think about retirement, savings, and financial security. I look around and see friends who spent decades building stable careers and preparing…
-
The Power of Waiting When You Don’t Know What to Do
“Waiting is not mere empty hoping. It has the inner certainty of reaching the goal.” ~I Ching Waiting has a bad rap in modern Western society. It’s not surprising that I had to look to an ancient Chinese text (the I Ching) in order to find a suitable quote to begin this article. We don’t…
-
Once You See the Relationship Pattern, You Can’t Unsee It
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” ~Maya Angelou The weekend started like any other family visit. Our family was in town, and it began with real excitement. Kids running everywhere, chocolate chip muffins in the oven, homemade ice cream for our guests, the ordinary, happy chaos of everyone existing…
-
How a Chronic Illness Changed My Life for the Better
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~Viktor Frankl I smiled when the doctor told me I had a disease I would carry for the rest of my life. He was calling with my biopsy results, and the word he used was “Crohn’s.” I had no…
-
Why It’s So Hard to Just Rest and Why We Need to Do It
“If you don’t give your mind and body a break, you’ll break. Stop pushing yourself through pain and exhaustion and take care of your needs.” ~Lori Deschene In November of 2021, my autoimmune issues flared up. My doctor and I are still unsure which of my conditions—rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia—was the culprit, or if they…
-
The Day I Realized Love Couldn’t Save Someone
“When it comes down to it, that’s what life is all about: showing up for the people you love, again and again, until you can’t show up anymore.” ~Rebecca Walker The first time my dad admitted he was scared, I felt something shift inside me. Not uncomfortable. Not worried. Scared. He had recently been diagnosed…
-
The Most Helpful Thing Someone Did During My Panic Attack
“Better than a thousand useless words is one useful word, upon hearing which one attains peace.” ~Buddha, Dhammapada Did he just cut the side of my head open? Am I bleeding out everywhere? Is there blood rushing down my face and onto the floor? It was the middle of my standard biweekly haircut when my…
-
How I Learned to Be More Present Without Meditating
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh A few years ago, I moved to a new country with two children under two. The idea had felt exciting at first—a fresh start, a new place, a life by the sea. But excitement fades quickly…