Shoutout to Recognizing Our Own Toxic Traits
How to Get Through Hard Times Without Hurting People We Love
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” ~Buddha
Just the other day, I had one of those moments with my husband, and not the kind of moment they write about in romance novels.
The world has been so different these last several months, and so many are feeling the effects of months of struggle, uncertainty, frustration, and limitations.
I consider myself to be someone who works to see the positive, finds the silver living in situations, and believes in the best of people, and that things can and will always get better. But lately, that has …
Perfectly Imperfect: How to Embrace Your Insecurities
“Cut yourself some slack. You’re doing better than you think.” ~Unknown
Your stomach is tied up in knots.
Another crisis has arrived, and everyone is looking to you to have the answers, to be the leader. You can’t blame them either because you think you should have all the answers. But you just don’t.
Though you look calm on the outside, inside you’re a tangle of nerves and anxiety, terrified someone will expose you as the fraud you feel you are.
In the past, you’ve been able to pull a rabbit out of a hat to save the day, …
What We Need to Grow and How It Can Happen in Just One Day
“People grow when they are loved well. If you want to help others heal, love them without an agenda.” ~Mike McHargue
I learned some of my biggest life lessons in grade 5.
I was an average student leaning to below average in my early elementary years. I came home with a steady flow of B’s, C’s and the occasional E’s in second language subjects. I was told that I wasn’t applying myself and, as every report card I ever brought home clearly stated, I talked too much.
At least that was the narrative as I came to understand it.
I …
How to Tell If Your Relationship is Codependent (and What to Do About It)
“Love rests on two pillars: surrender and autonomy. Our need for togetherness exists alongside our need for separateness.” ~ Esther Perel
Healthy relationships require a delicate balance of intimacy and autonomy, giving and receiving, self and other.
As we struggle to walk this delicate tightrope, we might feel less like graceful acrobats and more like pendulums swaying recklessly from side to side. As I reflect on my own romantic journey, I notice a trend: I got very close to past partners, losing myself in them entirely, and then emerged from the codependent haze terrified and self-abandoned.
“Never again!” I …
Master Peace Box: Meditation-Infused Art Classes, Delivered Monthly
Do you ever read about other people’s creative hobbies and think, “Man, that sounds like a lot of fun”? Do you ever look through creative Pinterest pages and think, “You know, I bet I could do that”?
There’s something about art that instantly evokes a feeling of joy and relaxation—or at least it does for me. Maybe it’s memories of carefree childhood afternoons spent creating Lego houses and playdough sculptures. Or maybe it’s the fantasy of being an artsy kind of person—eccentric, free-spirited, and driven by passion and awe.
Whatever your personal draw, there’s one thing we have in common, …
How to Foster Gratitude If You Have a History of Childhood Abuse
“The pressure to be grateful kept me away from the more painful and real feelings of grief, anger, and abandonment. Growing up, gratitude was one more brick on the pile that kept all of the secrets of abuse in place. It was just one more thing that made me feel like being who I am, as I am, isn’t enough.” ~Vicki Peterson
The pathway to gratitude for a person with developmental trauma is not always straightforward.
You try your best and even purchased a journal specifically to try the ritual for yourself, but all you can think of to be …
The Power of Compassion: How to Make Do in an Unfair World
“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” ~Nelson Mandela
Ever thought, “Life is so unfair!”
Is it, really?
Has life given you circumstances that keep you in a deep, dark hole of disadvantages that seem impossible to clamber out of?
Has life decided that you need to live in abject poverty and watch everyone in your life suffer from being denied everything a human needs to be human?
Has life put you in a position where you wouldn’t dare …
How to Survive Hard Times: 5 Lessons from Volunteering in a Hospital
“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” ~Albert Einstein
Why do you want to do it? It was a question I was asked repeatedly by friends before I started my volunteering placement in a spinal injuries unit, the uncertainty in their eyes reflecting back their own fears around life-altering disability.
It was difficult to put into words what drew me to becoming a patient support volunteer. I was content in my job, had an active social life, hiked and swam every weekend, but still there was something missing. My own life felt sheltered, and I wanted to feel …
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