“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” ~Abraham Maslow Have you ever wondered what true personal development requires? What it truly takes to change your life? I have, and it’s a question I have been asking myself for years. As someone who was on a journey that could…
“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…
“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…
“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….
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…
“Feelings come and go, like clouds in the sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh On the day my daughter Zoe turned seven weeks old, she burst into tears while I was changing her diaper. But why? What had I done? I remember panicking, confused, scared, and instantly guilty. Eventually, I noticed her pinky was twisted up…
“If you have ever followed a rainbow to its end, it leads you to the ground on which you are standing.” ~Alan Cohen There’s nothing more exhilarating than riding in a Jeep through masses of standing water. With each push forward, my friend Angela expertly maneuvered through enormous puddles, sending fountain-like arcs of aquatic glory past my passenger-side window….
“If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” ~Mary Engelbreit “So, what do you think?” my husband asked, the dinner table lit by the soft glow of the overhead light. He’d been talking for a while, and I knew I should have been listening. “What do you think?”…
“Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.” ~Akshay Dubey The realization came to me during a chaotic day at the Philadelphia public school where I worked as a counselor. A young student sat across from me, her body language mirroring anxiety patterns I knew all too well—the slightly hunched shoulders,…
“You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” ~Dan Millman For as long as I can remember, my mind has been a never-ending maze of what-ifs. What if I make the wrong decision? What if I embarrass myself? What if I fail? My brain worked overtime, analyzing every possibility, replaying past…
