MSgt Joseph Martel returned home from Afghanistan a month earlier than expected. He and his wife immediately drove to Belgium to their son’s high school football field, where Joseph initiated a surprise reuinion, dressed as an opposing player.
This brought tears to my eyes…all four times I watched it.
“When you try to control everything, you enjoy nothing. Sometimes you just need to relax, breathe, let go and live in the moment.” ~Unknown
Recently I went to an annual fall retreat for my graduate program. This was exactly what my heart was longing for up until this point. I felt overworked by school and overwhelmed by the busyness of the city and suburban life. I needed something different, something that would help me feel more grounded and at ease.
We went out to Middle-of-no-where-on-top-a-mountain, California, where the only sign of civilization was the four-way highway down below. I’m originally …
“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.” ~Kahlil Gibran
I had to learn the hard way that you don’t have to walk across hot coals or move to the desert and eat locusts and honey in order to have a mystical, life-changing experience.
As a young man I was anxious and driven, always looking ahead to another goal, always hoping to find some ultimate experience. I believed that life was a challenge that needed to be constantly tackled. Often, this meant feeling overworked and pulled-apart, and I failed …
“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” ~Brené Brown
I believe that it is part of the human condition to want love and connection with others. For some of us this comes much more naturally and abundantly than it does for others.
The universal thing we all share is that at some point along our life journey, there will come a time when our self-worth is on the table for questioning.
I can clearly recall the first time my self-confidence was rocked. I was seven years old and full of energy, life, …
“In the midst of winter I discovered that there was in me an invincible summer.” ~Albert Camus
These words may ring true for anyone who has been through difficult times, then found themselves stronger as a person, or doing things they would have never thought possible.
In May 2011 my brother was kidnapped from his home while working in Nigeria. After a truly horrific ten months he was murdered during a rescue attempt. It was an experience that has left scars we expect never to fully heal.
What happened next genuinely surprised and moved me. I saw the ordinary people …
“Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.” ~Unknown
How many of us have caught ourselves feeling as though we’re imposters when we’re trying to talk about a difficult situation in a positive light? We’re often fed the idea that how we feel is in how we decide to see life, which, I agree with; however, sometimes I think that idea gets taken to a deceptive extreme.
In the midst of one of my mini-meltdowns the other day, I called my friend and told her what had been going on in my head the last few months.
“It’s sounds as …
“Letting go gives us freedom and freedom is the only condition for happiness.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
First, let’s be clear about something…
Surrender is not about giving up, handing power over, or failing. It is not waving the white flag of defeat.
We are so used to striving and trying so hard for an outcome that anything outside of that formula seems like self-sabotage.
It isn’t. In fact, surrender is the pinnacle of evolved and enlightened behavior.
Surrender is the beautiful soft space of acceptance. It is an allowing—allowing life to unfold and to be what it is, irrespective of …
“The heart is like a garden: it can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?” ~ Jack Kornfield
My whole life has been a story of discipline. I started exercising and eating healthier in eighth grade. I planned out my studies meticulously so I would finish school assignments exactly on time. I always arrived five minutes early for any appointment or meeting. Disciplined.
When I began my yoga studies in earnest at the age of twenty-two, I applied the same disciplined nature to my yoga practice. I had extensive practice plans and had scheduled …
“Thinking will not overcome fear, but action will.” ~W. Clement Stone
I made it all the way to my thirtieth birthday without learning how to drive. After I turned twenty-one, people often asked me why I hadn’t learned yet. My go-to story was that I lived in a place with abundant public transportation options and never had any intention of buying a car.
The truth is that I wanted to learn, but I was terrified, and the fear grew with each year.
What if I got in an accident? What if people laughed at me for learning so late or …
“When we can no longer change a situation, we must change ourselves.” ~Victor Frankl
There are a million reasons why a friendship may change over time. You grow older, relocate for a job, have a fight, or start having kids.
It is an inevitable fact that life takes people in new directions; growing apart from old friends becomes a part of our lives. But, somehow I thought that I was immune, that this was someone else’s story.
My friends would be there with me forever.
We celebrated every single New Year’s together. We survived college, breakups—you name it. Our bond …
“If you get up one more time than you fall, you will make it through.” ~Chinese Proverb
I remember clearly the day in March 2003 when I would receive the kind of news that no aspiring musician wants to hear.
“Sorry, but you aren’t currently at the level needed to enter our school.”
Five years of blood, sweat, and tears for what? To be told that I sucked? I sat there, lost in my own thoughts. Was I having a bad day? Was I simply not as good as my ego led me to believe?
There I was, …
I love when people send me inspiring videos that include their own thoughts, voice, and illustrations. It’s like gaining access to a piece of their soul in one entertaining, thought-provoking work of art.
This short film by Mike Biagiotti really spoke to me. In his own words, it’s “a meditative journey about one man’s escape to his back country cabin.”
What does you inner child need today?
“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the world.” ~Marcus Aurelius
At the end of August I moved to Madison, Wisconsin. This was my second major move in a year.
In both cases, I was separated from almost my entire prior social network. After college, making friends seems like a totally different ball game.
Here in Madison, I wake up before five in the morning to go to work and don’t get back until six or seven on most days of the week. This leaves me feeling exhausted, but it hasn’t stopped me from going out …
“Silence is a source of great strength.” ~Lao Tzu
For over two years I spent one out of every four weeks in silence. At the time I was living at a Zen Monastery and every month we would have a week-long silent retreat.
During this retreat we sat meditation in silence, ate in silence, worked in silence, and only communicated through hand gestures and written notes.
At first living like this was hard, but over time I learned to grow to appreciate silence. By the time I left I learned that silence was my friend and teacher.
What did silence …
“Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.” ~Orison Swett Marde
I stood at the library counter waiting to check out a stack of books when I overheard an overworked woman explain to the librarian why her books were late.
“My boss has me running his errands after hours. It’s a miracle I made it on time to pick up my daughter from daycare,” she said.
“Are you a personal assistant?” the librarian asked.
“No, I’m a paralegal,” the woman explained. “But staffing is tight, and if I don’t take on the extra tasks I might …
“Good relationships don’t just happen. They take time, patience, and two people who truly want to be together.” ~Unknown
Out of our six loving years together, my partner and I spent two and a half years in a long-distance relationship. During these years there were times we communicated nearly daily, but there were also times when we couldn’t even email or text for a month at a time while I was living in an African village.
Being separated by an ocean from the person that is the most important to me was of course difficult and painful, but I …
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