The Hope of Joy Returning
How “Doing Fine” Was Actually Holding Me Back
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” ~Carl Rogers
For most of my life, the story looked like a straight line going up. I never hit bottom. This isn’t that kind of story.
And for a long time, that was exactly the problem.
From the outside, my life looked good. I had built things I was proud of and a family I love. If you knew me, you would have said I was doing well, and you would probably have been right.
So this isn’t a story about hitting bottom. …
Emotionally Overwhelmed? 5 Simple Practices That Can Help
“Whatever you’re feeling, it will eventually pass. You won’t feel sad forever. At some point, you will feel happy again. You won’t feel anxious forever. In time, you will feel calm again. You don’t have to fight your feelings or feel guilty for having them. You just have to accept them and be good to yourself while you ride this out. Resisting your emotions and shaming yourself will only cause you more pain, and you don’t deserve that. You deserve your own love, acceptance, and compassion.” ~Lori Deschene
One cry a day. I have used this four-word phrase to defend …
When the Old Life Doesn’t Fit but the New One Isn’t Clear Yet
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” ~Maya Angelou
There’s a strange season in life when the old ambitions no longer fit, but the new ones haven’t fully formed yet.
A year ago, I asked myself a simple question. Not a vague one. A very practical one.
Is there something I need to do right now to begin fulfilling my purpose and be happy?
And for the most part… nothing. No inner wisdom. No clear message. No cinematic download from the universe. Just silence.
At one …
When “Protecting Your Peace” Is Really Avoidance
“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.” ~Anonymous
My sister called four times before I picked up.
Not four times in one day—four times over three weeks. Each time, I watched her name light up my phone, felt something tighten in my chest, and set my phone face-down on the counter.
I told myself I was protecting my peace. I’d read that phrase everywhere that year. It was on water bottles, on Instagram infographics, on the lock screens of women I admired who seemed to have figured out something I hadn’t. Protect your
How the People We Love Live On in Us
“What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” ~Helen Keller
Growing up, I thought my father was a pack rat.
He never seemed to throw anything away. Bent nails. Odd screws. Washers without matching bolts. Short pieces of lumber that looked too small to be useful. If there was even the slightest chance something might come in handy someday, he found a place for it in the cellar.
I couldn’t understand it.
Why save things you could replace for a few cents at the hardware store?
He would …
A Simple Question That Helps When I Feel Anxious
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~John Muir
I used to think life was like an obstacle course, a series of hurdles you either cleared or stumbled over. For a long time, I stumbled a lot.
What I didn’t realize then was how easily repeated setbacks can turn into a habit of expecting the next one. After a while, you stop living in the present and start waiting for the other shoe to drop.
After I graduated from college, I followed the path I thought I was supposed to take. I moved to Philadelphia …
