Anxiety Makes Everything Feel Urgent
How to Suffer Less When You’re Waiting for Answers
“Rule your mind or it will rule you.” ~Buddha
Some mornings I wake before dawn and lie still, listening for signs that the house is awake.
A cough down the hallway.
The sound of a drawer opening.
Water running softly in the kitchen sink.
My mother is ninety-seven years old now, and before my feet even touch the floor, part of me is already listening for proof that the world has not changed overnight.
When I hear movement, I exhale.
Only then do I reach for my phone.
I tell myself I’m just checking messages. But lately I’ve realized I …
The Wholeness I Found When I Lost Someone I Love
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi
The room didn’t change when she left. The chair was where it had always been, angled toward the window the way she liked it. What changed was that I could finally see the shape of the thing I’d been leaning on, now that it wasn’t there to lean on anymore.
For a long time, I called what I felt “love,” and some of it was. But underneath the grief was something I was slower to admit. A lot of what I missed wasn’t her. It was the version of …
What My Broken Face ID Taught Me About Being More Present
“Every moment, every challenge, every inner reaction is here to show you exactly what you need to let go of in order to be free.” ~Michael A. Singer
The other day, while standing in the kitchen, I grabbed my phone to send a text, but it didn’t recognize my face. Suddenly, every time I wanted to use it, I had to enter my four-digit code. The whole process took no more than two seconds, yet I caught myself sighing with exasperation every time.
My reaction surprised me. Had I become so accustomed to immediacy that even such a tiny …
What Happened When I Finally Stopped Saying “I’m Fine”
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi
The first winter, I learned to lie cheerfully.
“How are you settling in?” someone would ask, and I would smile and say, “Really well, thank you.” That was the most fluent English I spoke all day.
I had left a warm, loud, crowded life and landed in a quiet apartment in a country where the cold did something to the air that made it hurt to breathe. I was a student, far from everyone who knew my name properly. I was supposed to be grateful.
And I was grateful. …
Why Self-Care Matters Most When You Have No Time
“Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first; it means me too.” ~L.R. Knost
We live in a society that celebrates pushing through; burnout is often worn as a badge of honor, and many job descriptions state bluntly, “Must be able to perform well under pressure and thrive in a fast-paced environment.”
I’m very well aware that self-care isn’t a luxury; it’s essential. “You can’t pour from an empty cup” and “You must put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting others” are two of the most well-known quotes. And while they might sound like a cliché, they are …
Same Café, New Me: How I Found Freedom Without Changing My Life
“Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose.” ~Michelle Rosenthal”
Today I am sitting in my favorite café in Venice Mall. I got my favorite seat, the one near the water.
I have spent countless hours here. I have cried here. Journaled here. Drawn here. Consoled myself here.
There was a time when this café felt like my only refuge from a life that felt too heavy to carry.
Today I am sitting in the same seat, drinking the same tea, looking at the same water. And for the first time, I realized something. …
