You Survived and Could Do It Again
How I Got Sober and What I Now Know About the Impacts of Alcohol
“Sometimes deciding who you are is deciding who you’ll never be again.” ~Anonymous
May 13th, 2011. I finally surrendered to the fact that I had a drinking problem and desperately needed help. The comments from acquaintances, the concern from friends, the complaints from my flatmates, the intensity of my depression, the conversations with my therapist—they all culminated in the decision that I had to break the chains from my liquid abuser.
It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, one that entailed waving goodbye to the life that I had led before and diving into a …
4 Things I Needed to Accept to Let Go and Heal After Trauma
TRIGGER WARNING: This post references sexual abuse and may be triggered to some people.
“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” ~Steve Maraboli
My family immigrated to the U.S. from India when I was sixteen. Being Indian, my traditional family expected me to have an arranged marriage.
At twenty-two, as a graduate music student, I fell in love with an American man. When my family found out about our secret relationship, they took me back to India and …
The Best Way to Deal with Dissatisfaction (It’s Not What You Think)
“Trying to change ourselves does not work in the long run because we are resisting our own energy. Self-improvement can have temporary results, but lasting transformation occurs only when we honor ourselves as the source of wisdom and compassion.” ~Pema Chodron, The Places That Scare You
In my late thirties, I was a yoga teacher and an avid practitioner. I lived by myself in a small but beautiful studio apartment in Tel Aviv, Israel, right next to the beach.
Every morning I woke up in my large bed with a majestic white canopy and said a morning prayer. I …
Hard Times eBook Sale: Buy One, Give One (This Weekend Only!)
Most people find their way to Tiny Buddha for the same reason—they’re hurting and looking for relief.
Since you’re reading this post right now, I’m guessing that’s true for you too.
Maybe you’re dealing with loss, illness, a toxic relationship, or a major life change that’s been hard. Maybe you’re struggling with your mental health as you try to heal from a traumatic childhood or event. Or maybe the demands of everyday life have you feeling stressed, depressed, overwhelmed, and even a little hopeless.
Whatever you’re feeling, you’re not alone. Thousands of contributors have shared their stories over the years, …
I Cheated on Him with My Higher Self (and We’re Still Going Strong)
“It’s okay to let go of those who couldn’t love you. Those who didn’t know how to. Those who failed to even try. It’s okay to outgrow them, because that means you filled the empty space in you with self-love instead. You’re outgrowing them because you’re growing into you. And that’s more than okay, that’s something to celebrate.” ~Angelica Moone
“How could you do this to me? It’s obvious you’re with someone else.”
That was the third and final message I received from my partner of nearly three years, several weeks after we had finally decided to break up. I …
You Have Just Five Minutes Left to Live – What Are Your Deathbed Regrets?
“Yesterday was heavy—put it down.” ~Unknown
Death is still taboo in many parts of the world, yet I must confess that I’ve become fascinated with the art of dying well.
I was thinking about the word “morbid” the other day, as I heard someone use it when berating her friend for his interest in better preparing for death. The word’s definition refers to “an unhealthy fixation on death and dying,” but who gets to define what’s healthy? And why are so many of us keen to avoid discussing the inevitable?
We talk about death from time to time on our …
11 Important Things I’ve Learned in 11 Years of Marriage
“A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.” ~Dave Meurer
My husband and I will soon be celebrating our eleventh anniversary. By no means do we have the perfect marriage or are we the perfect couple. Over our eleven years of marriage, I’ve recognized a few critical areas needed to build a solid and lasting union as a couple.
Here are eleven things I’ve learned in eleven years of marriage.
1. Communicate.
In the early days of my marriage, I was terrible at communicating my feelings …
Healing from Abandonment Trauma: 3 Things I Learned from Being Cheated On
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” ~Rumi
I want to share an experience I went through that hurt like hell, but that helped me so much in the long run.
The experience was being “cheated on,” though the woman wasn’t my girlfriend. Nevertheless, I was very attached and it felt awful.
So, let me start with the backstory.
I met Diana through mutual friends in late 2021. I thought she was cute, and a little anxious, which I seem to gravitate toward. That’s just my savior complex coming out, which is another story for …
Stay in the Right Lane: Let Yourself Slow Down and Enjoy Life
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” ~Diane Ackerman
Wow! My last weeks of my career. Though many days and weeks over the last thirty-four years have seemed to last forever, it truly is astonishing how fast time goes. And don’t we often try to make it go even faster?
Our jobs are stressful. We are often under tight time constraints and deadlines. We have clients and associates who want and need things yesterday.
We …
3 Things That Turned My Suffering into Blissful Peace
“To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.” ~Jill Bolte Taylor
I’d just spent over six years trapped in my own worst nightmare. Then in a split second, my whole reality shifted to an experience of exquisite peace and bliss. Walking through the streets of my home city, I seemed to be radiating unconditional love out and into everything around me.
I didn’t know it then, but I’d just tasted the ultimate state of …
The Best Approach to Self-Care: How to Attend to Your Unmet Needs
“Caring for your body, mind, and spirit is your greatest and grandest responsibility. It’s about listening to the needs of your soul and then honoring them.” ~Kristi Ling
There’s something I haven’t told many people. I kept it to myself because it clashed with my “identity” and the image I hoped to project (hello, ego!).
I’ve been creating content and working in the spirituality and personal development fields for a number of years. Although I don’t strive to become like Buddha, there’s a part of me (call it my spiritual ego) that expects certain things of me, such as to …
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.