Take a Break from Trying So Hard
The Beauty in Brokenness: Why Your Scars Make You Worthy
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi
On July 2, 2009, my life shattered with three words: “He is gone.”
I thought my friend meant my love was away on a camping trip, but no. She meant he was gone, as in forever.
My stomach knotted and my breath stopped. My body was reacting to the gravity of the truth before my mind could fully process it. The man I loved more than life itself never came back from his camping trip, and in many ways, neither did I.
My heart broke in a million …
Breaking Free from the Constant Need to Be Better
“Enough is a decision, not a condition.” ~Unknown
The night sky above Disneyland shimmered in color as fireworks burst to life. My daughters leaned against me, sticky-fingered from melted ice cream, eyes wide with wonder. It was supposed to be the happiest place on earth.
Then Mirabel’s voice from Encanto echoed through the speakers: “I will never be good enough. Will I? No matter how hard I try.”
Something inside me broke.
Sitting cross-legged on the pavement surrounded by thousands of smiling families, I sobbed. Not a dainty, delicate tear but the kind of quiet, chest-aching cry you hope no …
Why Your Friendships Make You Feel Anxious and Overthink Everything
“Many of our relationship struggles are not character flaws but survival strategies that once made sense.” ~Unknown
Throughout my life I’ve often been described as confident and outgoing. I can be the “life and soul” of a party and am able to strike up conversations with a wide variety of people.
But what nobody would have guessed is that I secretly struggled to navigate close friendships. I used to overthink every unanswered text, I felt I needed to please to keep friends close, and I even pushed friends away because I thought they didn’t care.
What made it worse was …
Trauma, Darkness, and the Powerful Therapy That’s Helping Me Heal
Trigger Warning: This piece contains references to childhood trauma, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Please take care of yourself as you read, and step away if you need to. If you are struggling, you are not alone — support is available through trusted loved ones, a therapist, or resources like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (in the U.S.).
Hello, darkness, my old friend.
I can’t push you away—because if I do, you only grow stronger. So I’m learning to let you be here. You settle in my chest like a hollow weight, speaking not in words but in pressure.
At …
The Power of Writing for Healing: An Embodied Approach
FREE Live 90-minute Write to Heal class and 20-page guide with prompts, recordings and more to support your healing journey.
When I was studying writing in college, my personal essay class was my favorite. I’d already been journaling for almost a decade, so I understood the power of exploring life experiences through the written word.
Journaling wasn’t immediately helpful for me. In my younger years, I often wrote to ruminate, beat myself up, count calories, or otherwise reinforce patterns that didn’t support me. But as I worked through childhood trauma in therapy and through other approaches, my writing gradually became …
The Question That Helped Me Reclaim My Time and Energy
“You can’t add more to your life until you first let go of what weighs you down.” ~Unknown
I used to think being busy meant being successful. My days were a blur of meetings, notifications, and commitments. My calendar looked impressive, but at night I lay awake wondering why I felt so exhausted and strangely unfulfilled.
One rainy Tuesday, stuck in traffic between two appointments I didn’t really want to attend, it hit me: I wasn’t living my life. I was managing it. I’d filled my days with activity, but not necessarily with value. That moment of realization started a …
What Losing My Faith Taught Me About Being Truly Alive
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I grew up as the fifth of seven children in a strict religious family where faith shaped everything. From an early age, I learned to follow the rules, perform to be seen, keep the peace, and be good.
My religious upbringing taught me to give my power away. The church held the answers, the authority, and even forgiveness itself. I learned to seek approval from outside sources instead of developing a relationship with my own inner truth. …
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