“This is not where your story ends. It’s simply where it takes a turn you didn’t expect.” ~Cheryl Strayed He had the courage to say what I couldn’t. “It’s not working anymore.” It didn’t make any sense that we were breaking up. We loved each other so much. We had been talking about getting engaged. Our couples therapy was…
“The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” ~James A. Garfield When the email finally came, it felt like a trap snapping shut. Its words were carefully spun—half-truths and veiled accusations twisted together to shift blame and obscure the real issue. For years, I had brushed off these moments as quirks or misunderstandings. But…
“When you reparent yourself, you can step in and give your inner child the deep love and attention you may not have had when you were young.” ~Victoria Albina Reparenting is not for the faint of heart, but the journey can surely be described as the greatest act of self-love. It’s a gift—a chance to redo some of the…
“Can I sit with suffering, both yours and mine, without trying to make it go away? Can I stay present to the ache of loss or disgrace—disappointment in all its many forms—and let it open me? This is the trick.” ~Pema Chödrön At forty-seven years of age, I have experienced chronic illness in some form since my mid-to-late twenties….
“I can respect any person who can put their ego aside and say, ‘I made a mistake, I apologize, and I’m correcting the behavior.’” ~Sylvester McNutt I remember I was a teenager when I went through this horrible breakup. I had never experienced heartbreak before, and the pain was excruciating, impacting many areas of my life. For years, I…
“Forgiveness is an action, which your mind can never understand. Your mind’s sole intent is to balance the books. In issues of morality, it only wants to get even. Therefore, practice forgiveness every day if only in trivial matters. This is an excellent way of tempering the mind and empowering the heart.” ~Glenda Green Recently, seemingly out of nowhere,…
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi Have you ever held yourself back from going after what you truly want, or from enjoying what you have, because of a lingering fear that it might be taken away from you, or because you felt guilty for having more than others? For years, I found myself unintentionally…
“Living with chronic illness isn’t a life half-lived; it’s an opportunity to redefine what it means to be truly alive, resilient, and whole.” ~Christopher Reynolds I have spent the past eleven years of my life in chronic pain. While this journey has been long, excruciatingly difficult, and deeply lonely, I am beginning to come to peace with my body. After…
Do I need to forgive my abusive mother to let go of the past? This is the question I found myself grappling with when I started to recover from the pain of childhood neglect. For most of my childhood, I did not have access to a consistent adult who valued me. As a result, I believed that I had…
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” ~Maya Angelou What if the person you’re trying hardest to please is you? For years, I wore a mask—a professional, composed, always-on version of myself that I thought everyone expected. My need to please and perform was deeply…
