Posts tagged with “wisdom”
How to Coexist with Fear (and Spiders)
“If you are willing to look at another person’s behavior toward you as a reflection of their relationship with themselves rather than a statement about your value as a person, then you will, over time, cease to react at all.” ~Yogi Bhajan
Several years ago, I hiked into the remote forestlands of Bukidnon, a mountainous province in the southern Philippines. I was there to make a documentary about the Pulangiyēn people, an Indigenous community living in the village of Bendum. No roads led there. No running water. Just a winding trail upwards, a slow-moving carabao pulling my camera gear, and …
More Energy, Less Regret: Your Guide to a Sober Summer
“Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.” ~Theodore Roosevelt
We are used to people talking about Dry January or Sober October but rarely a Sober Summer. That doesn’t seem to be a thing—but what if it was? What if it could be your reality this year?
I knew I wanted my relationship with alcohol to be different at many points in my twenties, thirties, and forties, and in the summer of 2017, I decided, “This is it—I am going to choose a different path.”
That day in June left me with a terrible hangover the next morning. I didn’t parent …
The Trauma in Our Tissues and How I’m Setting Myself Free
“I feel like I can see with my whole body,” I said to my peer after our last session exchange.
As part of my ongoing growth and development as a practitioner, I regularly participate in somatic therapy exchanges with a small group of peers.
On completion of our last session, I found myself sitting with a sense of a quiet, steady seeing, almost like sitting on the top of a mountain, rooted to the earth, not a breath of wind, and a 360-degree view of not just the world around me but of it within me, and me within it.…
What Happened When I Stopped Saying Yes to Everything
“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.” ~Brené Brown
I used to believe that if someone was in need and I had the ability to help, it was my duty to step in. Whether it was managing caregiving responsibilities for family, fielding crisis calls from friends, or stepping up at work when no one else would, I said yes without hesitation. For me, helping seemed to be the measure of a “good person.”
But what I didn’t realize is that many of us confuse obligation with responsibility.
Obligation feels …
How My Mother’s Alcoholism Shaped Me and How I’m Healing Now
“The journey of the perfect daughter is not about perfection; it’s about finding the courage to be imperfect, to be human.” ~Robert Ackerman, Perfect Daughters
Growing up in a home shadowed by addiction is like living in a house with no foundation. The ground beneath you is unstable, the walls feel fragile, and the roof could collapse at any moment. For me, this was my reality. My earliest memories of my mother’s alcoholism are tied to confusion and worry—a child’s attempt to make sense of an adult world filled with unpredictability and silence.
Her moods were erratic, swinging from one …
How I Learned to Be Present—One Sound at a Time
“Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.” ~Miles Davis
When I first read that quote, it hit me right in the chest. Not because it sounded profound—but because it was something I had been slowly, painfully learning over the course of a very quiet, very long year.
Time used to feel like a race. Or maybe a shadow. Or a trickster. Some days, it slipped through my fingers like water. Other days, it dragged me along like a heavy cart. But always, it was something outside me—something I was chasing or trying to escape.
I spent much of …
From Injury to Insight: A New Kind of Yoga Practice
“Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you—all of the expectations, all of the beliefs—and becoming who you are.” ~Rachel Naomi Remen
For years, yoga was my safe space—the place where I felt strong, grounded, and whole. My practice wasn’t just physical; it was my sanctuary, my moving meditation. So, when a shoulder injury forced me to change the way I practiced, I wasn’t just in pain—I was lost.
At first, it seemed minor. A nagging soreness, nothing I hadn’t worked through before. I convinced myself that more movement would …
How I Stopped Absorbing Other People’s Energy and Emotions
“And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~Anaïs Nin
I used to think something was wrong with me.
I cried at the wrong moments. I felt anxious before a phone call, only to find out the other person was deeply upset. I could walk into a room and instantly sense who was grieving, who was fighting—even if no one said a word.
People called me empathic. Intuitive. But mostly, I felt weird. Overwhelmed. Other. Too much.
I tried everything to make it stop. …
How I Stopped Hiding Myself for Love and Approval
TRIGGER WARNING: This post includes a brief mention of childhood physical abuse and may be triggering to some readers.
“The person who tries to keep everyone happy often ends up feeling the loneliest.” ~Unknown
It’s Christmas morning. I’m seven years old. I sit on the hardwood floor with my sisters, in my nightgown surrounded by crumpled wrapping paper. I grab the next present to open. I tear off the paper. It’s a ballerina costume with a pink leotard, tutu, and pale pink tights.
As soon as I thank my adoptive parents, I leave the room with my new gift, keeping …
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