How to Make Everything Easier by Accepting the Present Moment
“The power of now can only be realized now. It requires no time and effort. Effort means you’re trying hard to get somewhere and so you are not present, welcoming this moment as it is.” ~Eckhart Tolle
Eight years ago, I was very depressed. I wanted nothing more than to stop feeling this way and dreamed of escaping my body. I had struggled with depression for many years, and I was terrified that I might feel that way forever.
Someone recommended I do a mindfulness-based course. This turned out to be the one of the most helpful parts of my …
What If There’s Beauty on the Other Side of Your Pain?
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” ~Albert Einstein
“I don’t want to live anymore. I don’t want to be here. I can’t do this. It hurts too much. It’s too hard.”
I’m curious how many times I’ve heard these words over my lifetime. From different people, ages, genders, ethnicities, and walks of life. The words the same, the heaviness no different from one to the next. Hopelessness has a specific tone attached to it. Flat, low, and empty.
Being the child of a parent who committed suicide, there is a …
Why I Ignored Morgan Freeman’s Advice on How to Live My Best Life
“Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” ~Roy T. Bennett
When I was a college senior, God, or the voice of God (aka Morgan Freeman) came to my campus to give a talk. At the end of the talk, I beelined toward the mic set up in the aisle of the auditorium, excited to ask my question and for him to share his wisdom with me.
“Hi, thanks so much for being with us today! As a college senior trying to figure out what to do next, I was …
Healing from the Conflicting Loss of a Difficult Parent
“Deep grief sometimes is almost like a specific location, a coordinate on a map of time. When you are standing in that forest of sorrow, you cannot imagine that you could ever find your way to a better place. But if someone can assure you that they themselves have stood in that same place, and now have moved on, sometimes this will bring hope.” ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
I had a tumultuous and interesting relationship with my father. He was a strong, proud man in his spirit as well as in his physical appearance. In my younger years, I …
20 Powerful Self-Care Quotes to Help You Feel and Be Your Best
Hi friends! I decided over this long holiday weekend to give myself a break for some much-needed self-care, which I imagine we could all use right now.
We’ve all been pushed, stretched, and challenged this year. We’ve all given our all, done our best, and perhaps wondered at times if it was good enough.
That’s the thing about difficult times—we often make them so much harder by expecting a lot from ourselves, pushing ourselves, and beating ourselves up when we fall short.
We expect ourselves to always be happy. Or productive. Or confident. Or present. Or there for other …
4 Reasons to Let Go of the Need to Plan Your Future
“No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living in the now.” ~Alan Watts
I went to college a little bit later in life. Because of that, people often mistakenly believed I was operating on a specific (and somewhat urgent) timetable—as though I was running to catch up with the rest of the people my age.
However, I was already in a career I loved (teaching yoga) that supported me financially. For me, going back to school was mainly about enjoying the process of getting an education without any pressure to get …