The Best Revenge Is None
3 Things I Realized When I Stopped People-Pleasing and Let Myself Receive
“Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart.” ~Brene Brown
The honest truth about needing to please is that we do it to make other people happy. We will sacrifice everything and anything to put a smile on another’s face and lighten their load, while ours keeps building.
The only problem is that while helping others makes us feel good, it’s almost addictive until we are burnt out. And giving and pleasing others starts to come from a place of resentment.
I’ve been there!
There was a time when I used …
How I’m Coping with Grief by Finding Meaning in My Father’s Death
“Life has to end, love doesn’t.” ~Mitch Albom
Before we dive into the dark subject of death, let me assure you, this is a happy read. It is not about how losing a loved one is a blessing but how it can be a catalyst to you unlocking big lessons in your life.
Or maybe it is—you decide.
To me, this is just about a perspective, a coping mechanism, and a process that I am personally employing to get over the loss of a loved one.
My dad and I were best buds till I became a teenager. Then my …
20 Inspiring Acts of Kindness and Giveaway Winners for HumanKind
Last week I ran a giveaway for Brad Aronson’s HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time—a heartwarming book that highlights ordinary people doing extraordinary things and offers practical tips for everyday kindness.
I had ten books to give away—four for the blog, three for Facebook, and three for Instagram—and I invited you all to share an act of kindness you’d recently received or witnessed for a chance to win. The four blog winners, chosen at random, are:
Please email me at email (at) tinybuddha.com so I can get a book …
How I Overcame My Psychic Addiction and Stopped Giving My Power Away
“If you’re looking for a sign from the universe, and you don’t see one, consider it a sign that what you really need is to look inside yourself.” ~Lori Deschene
I used to have no idea what I should do. About anything. I would go from friend to friend running polls:
Should I be a solo singer or in a group?
Is this guy the one?
Should I do this job or that job?
Should I stay in LA or move to Vancouver?
Should I get bangs?
On and on it went. It wasn’t that I wanted validation. It was …
Are You Pathologizing Normal Emotions? It’s Not Always a Mental Illness
“Don’t believe everything you think.” ~Unknown
Society is becoming more accepting of mental illness. That’s great, but there’s a downside that we need to talk about. Not everything is mental illness. We need to stop pathologizing every single thing that we feel.
What I mean by pathologizing everything is jumping to diagnosing yourself after every tough feeling you have. It’s great to be self-aware, but I think we are taking that a little too far and it’s causing more depression and anxiety.
Yes, I said we are taking self-awareness too far. I stand by that, but I’ll explain the …
Sick of Toxic Relationships? Love Yourself Enough to Walk Away
“There comes a time in your life when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who do not. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.” ~José N. Harris
Letting go of relationships that impact your well-being and make you feel unsafe may seem like a simple act for many, but for those of …
Sometimes People Don’t Say Sorry—Why It Pays to Forgive Nonetheless
“Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” ~Roberto Assagioli
When I was a little girl, I used to wonder what my father was like. Was he a nice man? What did he look like? Did he think about me? Did he love me?
But, above all, I wondered why he left.
I used to make up stories about him. One time I imagined him as a voyager traveling to foreign lands and picking up small gifts for me in every new place he visited. He met with the locals and would learn new trades …
Healing from Shame: How to Stop Feeling Like You’re Fundamentally Wrong
“If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three ingredients to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgment. If you put the same amount of shame in the petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can’t survive.” ~Brené Brown
There is a special type of shame that activates within me when I am around some family members. It’s the kind of shame where I am back in my childhood body, feeling utterly wicked for being such a disaster of a human. A terrible child that is worthless, stupid, and perhaps, if I am honest, more than a …
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 were acting in cahoots, but the overall achiness and debilitating fatigue were a solid indication that something was more active than usual.
I woke up tired, needed naps, and often ran out of spoons—a phrase familiar to many with chronic conditions, based on a gorgeous …
HumanKind: The Inspiring, Uplifting Book We All Need to Read (Giveaway!)
A while back I shared a quote by an unknown author that reads:
“You know who’s going through a lot right now? Literally everyone. Just be kind.”
It got me thinking about all the struggles we assume other people don’t have—because we’d never guess from the looks of them.
You’d never guess that your confident colleague struggles with PTSD from childhood abuse and neglect.
You’d never guess that your boisterous brother-in-law beats himself up because he doesn’t earn enough to get his family out of debt.
You’d never guess that your collected cousin cries in the bathroom every day because …
4 Simple, Heart-Opening Exercises to Fill You with Joy, Love, and Light
“Why are you so enchanted by this world, when a mine of gold lies within you?” ~Rumi
Happiness, love, and joy—we spend our lives in search of them. We often look to external things to fulfill our desire to experience them. A relationship, a trip abroad, a career, or maybe that shiny new car. We can spend our lives chasing these desires and believing that once we check everything off our list of life accomplishments, we will experience them all.
But what if I shared with you that all of this—happiness, love, and joy—exists in you right now? That …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 