The first time I got my heart broken—really, painfully broken—I remember feeling too ashamed to ask for support. I didn’t talk about it with anyone because, at the time, there weren’t many people I trusted with such a raw and tender part of myself. I cried a lot, so people around me knew something had happened, but looking back,…
“Joy comes to us in moments—ordinary moments. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary.” ~Brené Brown I started going to my local gym a few months ago to prepare for a strenuous hike. The gym is a tiny place, located on a quiet street in the middle of a small town….
“When you are in uncertainty, when you feel at risk, when you feel exposed, don’t tap out. Stay brave, stay uncomfortable, stay in the cringy moment, lean into the hard conversation, and keep leading.” ~Brené Brown When you think of someone who’s struggling financially, you might picture someone who’s barely making ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck, just getting…
“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…
“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…
“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…
“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…
“When we listen to our body with kindness, we honor the present moment and give ourselves the care we truly need.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh It started back in middle school for me—the need to feel thin in my English riding breeches. I’d compare myself to others at the barn—the ones with the long, slender legs and tiny waists. My thirteen-year-old…
“Sometimes, the hardest person to trust is ourselves. But when we do, everything changes.” ~Unknown For a long time, I thought the key to changing my life was out there—somewhere. I thought that if I just found the right program, the perfect plan, or the expert with all the answers, then I’d finally feel in control and like I…
“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…
