“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” ~Chinese Proverb
Yes, I had reached the age of 25. Still, I doubted this letter from my past would make it to me, all these years later. It was a simple creative writing assignment from when I was 15.… Read More
“Do something now that will make the person you’ll be tomorrow proud.” ~Unknown
A while back someone asked me to list my greatest accomplishments for 2012.
As I racked my brain, I thought of a few professional achievements that made me feel proud, but as for the top accomplishment, I kept coming back to the same thing: my sister’s wedding.… Read More
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It’s finally happening.
After much thought and discussion, I’m excited to move forward with a Tiny Buddha iPhone app!
I have a ton of my own ideas, but I’d like to ensure the app meets your wants and needs.… Read More
“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.” ~John Allen Paulos
I was in shock for about 10 minutes after hearing the news, afraid while lying on the procedure table, and relieved when it was over.
Six months ago I had a mammogram.… Read More
“Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.” ~Joan Borysenko
Every day I meet with people who are stressed and want things to be different. I also encounter people who are so distressed they’ve accepted suffering’s dominion over their life. Almost all, however, are interested in the concept of change.… Read More
“Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~Rumi
My ex used to stomp out of the house every time we had an argument.
Literally, he would leave. And usually before he left he’d smash something.… Read More
“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” ~Mary Engelbreit
Some might say that their past haunts them like old ghosts. As for me, my ghost is my childhood.
I was raised in a moderately traditional family, as opposed to some overly traditional Chinese families where everyone lived by a thick rulebook.… Read More
“Envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness.” ~Bertrand Russell
Everyone feels it. Envy is universal. I can trace my first feelings of envy to my childhood. I grew up with six sisters, each one taller and thinner than I was. On top of that, they all had pretty, long, thick hair.… Read More
“Our way to practice is one step at a time, one breath at a time.” ~Shunryu Suzuki
Two years ago, I reached a breaking point. I was miserable in my job, unhappy in my marriage, disinterested in my graduate school program, and struggling with multiple medical issues.
One night, while fighting with my husband, a deep sense of dread overcame me.… Read More
“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow.… Read More
“The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.” ~Paulo Coelho
I stood there in the parking lot of my apartment complex, with the hot Phoenix sun beating down on me, as I watched him drive away for what I thought would be the last time.
With tears rolling down my cheeks, I went inside my apartment after his car had turned the corner and was out of sight.… Read More
“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” ~Dalai Lama
I’m betting you’ve heard the advice to “follow your bliss.” While I find there to be much value in those words, I submit that this mindset can become a trap.
It’s not the bliss I have an issue with.… Read More
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” ~Socrates
As a people, we are busy. Busy is our mantra. Busy equals successful. Busy equals value. Sometimes all busy really equals is busy.
It’s important to be engaged, and we need to do what it takes to survive and thrive, but sometimes what we are seeking has less to do with being busy and more to do with just being.… Read More
“The light is what guides you home, the warmth is what keeps you there.” ~Ellie Rodriguez
One day I came home and just sat in my driveway for a while, wondering why I wasn’t happy about going inside my house. I wasn’t depressed, and I had a loving relationship with my family.… Read More
“Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” ~Proverb
A few months ago, I moved from the metropolitan east coast to rural Indiana and bunked up with my grandparents to help them sell their house.
The house has finally sold, and now I am faced with options for where to go next.… Read More
“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.” ~Honore de Balzac
You know what that voice in your head says…
You can’t do it. You’ll never be good enough. You’re going to fail.
This voice taunts you whenever you set a goal. It criticizes you when life gets difficult.… Read More
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~Albert Einstein
A couple of months ago, I had one of the best and worst weekends in a very long time.
My best friend for the last 15 years was getting married, and I was in the wedding party.… Read More
“Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power.” ~Shirley MacLaine
“Good and evil, there never is one without the other,” Merlin stated ominously in Excalibur. Others explain it as pertaining to how every Yin needs a Yang.
Every light has darkness to balance it out.
People can be kind or mean or beautiful or ugly.… Read More
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” ~Ernest Hemingway
When I was a child I was part of a family that didn’t communicate beyond “pass the salt.”
There was no confiding of fears, sharing of hopes, and encouraging each other’s dreams. It was a superficial and empty existence but one that was completely normal to me.… Read More
“Excellence can be obtained if you care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible.” ~Unknown
I think I always had an idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I sort of tweaked it along the way.… Read More
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