You Know Who’s Going Through a Lot Right Now?
What Forgiveness Really Means and Why It’s the Ultimate Freedom
I used to loathe the word “forgiveness.”
What it meant to me was that someone could hurt me, lie to me, or even abuse me, say “sorry,” and I was supposed to pretend like nothing happened. If I didn’t, they would say to me, “I thought you were a forgiving person,” or “What? I already said I was sorry.”
It felt awful, outside and inside.
I had one relationship that I knew very well wasn’t good for me and I wanted out of, but my misunderstanding of what the word “forgiveness” meant kept me stuck there for a very long …
5 Hidden Fears That May Be Secretly Sabotaging Your Life
“Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free.” ~Robert Tew
I like to say I don’t regret much in life, because I know I’ve always done the best I could and have learned from every experience. But I’d be lying if I said I haven’t considered what my life might be like now if I’d overcome certain fears sooner.
For years I shut people out because I feared I might ruin relationships if I opened myself up to them. And there was a good reason for that—I’d damaged many relationships in the …
Embracing Aging: I Want to Be Shiny from the Inside
“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Yesterday my son called me from college and asked about my day. I told him about my morning, which entailed celebrating my friend’s birthday with her daughter.
My friend passed away almost two years ago. Her daughter reached out to me a couple weeks ago and asked if I would share my morning with her to honor her mom. What a privilege and honor. Hands down YES to that.
The celebration was full of smiles, laughs, tea, stories, tears, yoga mats, birds, fresh …
The Tremendous Pain and Beauty of Letting Things Die
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” ~Joseph Campbell
My husband Jake and I sit in anguish on our beautiful new linen couch, inches away from each other, yet worlds apart. Hours of arguing have left us at another impasse, the stalemate now a decade long.
I look around in despair at the beautiful life we built together, petrified by the decision I know I have to make. My partner, my friends, the country I live in, the ground beneath my feet—all on the brink of collapse.
I stare at the ceiling in heartache. What will …
6 Reasons We Ignore Our Needs and How to Stop
“If you feel that you are missing out on fulfillment and happiness, but cannot put your finger on why, perhaps there is something deeper going on. Believe it or not, anyone can develop an unconscious habit of self-deprivation. Usually, this habit begins in childhood.” ~Mike Bundrant
For all my adolescence and over a decade of my adult life, I was what men (and I’m guessing some female friends as well) would refer to as “emotionally needy.” And some did. To my face. With a sense of condescension and judgment.
They were right. I was clingy, insecure, and fragile. I needed …
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