Posts tagged with “wisdom”
Full Circle: Reclaiming the Me Who Felt Most Alive
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” ~T.S. Eliot
In my early twenties, I packed a backpack and boarded a plane alone with a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia. It was a move that baffled my father, inspired my friends, and quietly terrified me.
I was drawn by something I couldn’t fully articulate at the time: a craving for freedom, truth, and a kind of belonging I hadn’t yet known. What I didn’t realize then is that this two-year …
The Trauma Keeps Talking—But My Voice Is Now Louder
“Turn down the volume of your negative inner voice and create a nurturing inner voice to take its place.” ~Beverly Engel
After the abuse ends, people think the pain ends too. But what no one tells you is that sometimes the loudest voice isn’t the abuser’s anymore—it’s the one that settles inside you.
It whispers:
“You’re broken.”
“You’re used.”
“You don’t deserve better.”
And over time, that voice doesn’t just whisper. It becomes the rhythm of your thoughts, the lens through which you see yourself.
That’s what I mean when I say the trauma keeps talking.
Living with the Echo
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The God I Lost, the One I Found, and the Faith That Changed Me
“I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.” ~Rumi
There’s a particular kind of heartbreak that happens when you realize some of your prayers are going nowhere.
There’s a painful silence that follows unanswered calls. Yet, despite the ache, I can still feel the pull to pray to the God outside of myself—that old reflex to place faith in something bigger, some invisible force in the sky, who, apparently, can make things happen magically here on Earth.
But it doesn’t always go that way, does it?
I prayed my cancer would go …
The Grief No One Talks About: How to Heal After Losing a Soulmate Pet
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~Anatole France
When my cat Squiggles died, I didn’t just “lose a pet.” I lost a part of my identity, my greatest source of comfort, and my sense of home.
Squiggles was the one constant in my life through every milestone, every heartbreak, every version of myself I grew into over the course of two decades. I had her since the moment she was born, and for almost twenty-two years, Squiggles was my constant companion, my emotional support, my soul-kitty.
But no matter how much I prepared …
The Weight of Regrets and the Choice to Live Better
“It is very important for every human being to forgive herself or himself because if you live, you will make mistakes—it is inevitable. But once you do and you see the mistake, then you forgive yourself and say, ‘Well, if I’d known better I’d have done better.’” ~Maya Angelou
I’ve lived long enough to know the difference between a mistake and a tragedy. Some of what I carry falls in between—moments I wish I could redo, things I said or didn’t say, relationships I mishandled, and opportunities I let slip through my fingers. They don’t scream at me every day, …
From Pain to Peace: How to Grieve and Release Unmet Expectations
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi
Before 2011, I had heard many spiritual teachers talk about “accepting what is.” It sounded nice in theory, like good mental information to chew on. But it didn’t feel embodied. I understood it intellectually, but I wasn’t living it.
Then I attended a weekend intensive with a teacher I deeply respected, and something in the way he explained it hit deeper. It wasn’t just talk. The essence of his words turned a spiritual idea into something I could start to live.
In that talk, he shared a …
Why You Can’t Relax and How to Let Yourself Rest
“Rest and be thankful.” ~William Wordsworth
A few years ago, I caught myself doing something that made no sense.
It was late evening, my kids were asleep, the house finally quiet. I’d been counting down to this moment all day—dreaming of sinking into the couch, wrapping myself in a blanket, maybe even reading a book without distractions.
But when I lay down and closed my eyes, something inside me lurched. Within seconds, I reached for my phone. I didn’t even have anything urgent to check—just mindless scrolling. Five minutes in, I was already half-sitting up, wondering if I should fold …
How Self-Portraits Brought My Messy, Honest, Beautiful Self into Focus
“And then I realized that to be seen by others, I first had to be willing to see myself.” ~Anonymous
In a world that teaches us to be visible only when we’re polished, productive, or pleasing, I found something unexpected on the other side of my camera: myself.
But not the filtered version. Not the composed one or the “smiling because I’m fine” version.
I found the person I’d forgotten—the one who had spent years loving, giving, showing up for everyone else but rarely turning any of that tenderness inward.
I didn’t pick up the camera to take pretty pictures. …
The Power I Now Carry Because of My Illness
“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.” ~Eckhart Tolle
For years, I thought strength meant pushing through. Getting on with it. Holding it together no matter what. Not showing weakness. Not needing help. Not slowing down.
Even when I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, I wore that mindset like armor. I was determined not to let it define me—let alone derail me.
But eventually, it did. Not because I was weak. But because I was human. And that was the beginning of a different kind …
The Truth About My Inner Critic: It Was Trauma Talking
“I will not let the bullies and critics of my early life win by joining and agreeing with them.” ~Pete Walker
For most of my life, there was a voice in my head that narrated everything I did, and it was kind of an a**hole.
You know the one. That voice that jumps in before you even finish a thought:
“Don’t say that. You’ll sound stupid.”
“Why would anyone care what you think?”
“You’re too much. You’re not enough. You’re a mess.”
No matter what I did, the critic had notes. Brutal ones. And the worst part? I believed every …
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