Posts tagged with “wisdom”
Feeling Burnt Out? Meet Toxic Productivity & Grind Culture with Rest
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” ~Audre Lorde
When you hear the word “productive,” you likely think of something positive: busting through that work assignment, making your house sparkly clean, or crushing your hobby.
Productivity is what we all aim for, right? On workdays and even on our days off, we seek to make something happen.
Grinding and hustling are seen as admirable, and something to work toward, always.
If we fall short, we beat ourselves up, and sometimes even drag ourselves off the couch to force …
4 Powerful Lessons I’ve Learned from Grief Since My Mom Died Suddenly
“Losing my mother at such an early age is the scar of my soul. But I feel like it ultimately made me into the person I am today. I understand the journey of life. I had to go through what I did to be here.” ~Mariska Hargitay
At 6:07 pm on July 18, 2020, I was sitting on the couch with my boyfriend. It was a Saturday night, and I had canceled plans with my friends because I had a migraine. I had eaten dinner already, and I was in my pajamas, watching TV. My phone rang—my dad. “I’ll call …
Scared of Losing People You Love? How to Work through the Fear
“People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.” ~Joseph F. Newton
“Oh my God, Mom…” she said with a verbal eye roll.
“What?” I responded, sure that I had said too much or overshared like I normally do.
I can’t recall what my daughter and I were discussing openly about while standing in line at the grocery store checkout, but I do remember the girl ringing us up laughing and saying we sounded just like her and her mom.
I paused, unsure what that meant.
“Is this what a healthy mother/daughter relationship sounds like?” I questioned to myself. …
Why I Stopped Measuring My Self-Worth and Trying to Prove Myself
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone.” ~Maya Angelou
How do you measure your self-worth? By the salary you make each year? By the number of lines on your resume? By the amount of people who follow you on social media?
Now what if you never had to measure your self-worth again? That is what I want to do.
I grew up as a gifted kid with high expectations to boot, always pushing myself to meet them. I earned the best grades I could, secured a full-ride scholarship to a local university, and soon enough …
Want to Help Someone Through Depression? Here Are a Few Things to Try
“There were two classes of charitable people: one, the people who did a little and made a great deal of noise; the other, the people who did a great deal and made no noise at all.” ~Charles Dickens
“It’ll be okay, just…”
If I could have taken that expression and thrown it at each person who said it to me when I was struggling with depression, it would have felt much better than hearing it each time.
Here are a few ways people ended that sentence:
“Try not to think about it.”
“Cheer up.”
“Get some exercise.“
“See someone …
How I Recognized My Fear of Failure and How I’m Mindfully Overcoming It
“The only way to ease our fear and be truly happy is to acknowledge our fear and look deeply at its source. Instead of trying to escape from our fear, we can invite it up to our awareness and look at it clearly and deeply.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
My daughter began taking tumbling classes a week before her eighth birthday. She had been dancing since the age of three, and those classes included instructions for cartwheels and roundoffs. The harder stuff, like the back walkover, required tumbling or gymnastics classes, and she wanted the chance to be able to show …
Are You Highly Emotionally Reactive? You May Be Stuck in Survival Mode
“Survival mode is supposed to be a phase that helps save your life. It is not meant to be how you live.” ~Michele Rosenthal
Childhood is the most cherished time for many. However, nobody gets to adulthood unscathed. We all go through incidents with our friends, family, and at school or otherwise that leave us feeling emotionally bruised or scarred.
Growing up in a household where my parents were busy raising three kids and working hard to better their economic status, somewhere along the way I felt neglected. Not that they did anything intentionally, but I was often …
Put Down Your Phone: Why Presence Is the Best Gift You’ll Ever Give
“When you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence. How can you love if you are not there?” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
The only thing worse than not listening to someone is pretending to listen.
Giving the vague murmur of agreement, or a quick nod to communicate “Yes, I’m listening, totally,” when really, we’re not.
I remember vividly a dinner I had with friends about four years ago. I’d been backpacking in New Zealand for twelve months and had just returned to the UK. Traveling in the car to my friend’s house, I imagined how the night …
Why I Blamed Myself for My Ex’s Suicide (and Why It’s Not My Fault)
“No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future.” ~Umar Ibn Al Khattab
I don’t remember the exact day the message came through. It was from my son, Julian, and he needed to talk to me. It sounded pretty serious. He never really needs to talk to me.
His father was found dead earlier that week. He’d hung himself.
While this news hardly affected Julian at all, it hit me like a ton of bricks, and I cried.
Our Marriage
We met in a taxi thirty-three years ago. He was the driver, …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 