Reflections
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You’re Not Just a Stick in the River
Have you ever felt completely stuck? Stuck in life or perhaps just stuck in a situation? And you become completely overwhelmed and don’t know what to do or how to move forward? Several years back I found myself feeling pretty stuck (and yes, dozens and dozens of times since and currently, cause hey, I’m human). It wasn’t everything in my life but enough that it was easy to feel like a victim of circumstances beyond my immediate control. And I know we all feel, from time to time, as though we’re being dragged along, helpless to choose a different path or outcome and with no end in sight. And then…
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The Gate Can Wait
I hit my lowest point the summer I turned 48. I’d been working in corporate America for years and one day I finally hit maximum burnout. Exhausted, mindless, numb and functioning in a deficit; barely surviving, definitely not living. The timing was ripe for a mid-life crisis but my abundantly cautious nature settled on the careful planning of one instead. So, I got comfortable with the idea of strategically curating a mid-life crisis instead of creating a catastrophic and irreversible disaster. Perhaps I might have the opportunity to build something that would benefit me in the end which I might actually like myself for and wouldn’t result in further self-loathing.…
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On a sunny day
On a sunny day, notice how the sunlight filters through the windows, stretching across the floor or your furnishings. Look at the shapes it creates between the light and the shadows. Feel the energy coming from the sun’s rays, penetrating the room. Contemplate this light, noticing how the light shows up for you again and again, even if it has been missing for many days or even weeks in some places of the world. Feel this unique moment of light; feel it filling you up and as you take it in, notice the calm spread across your body. Still your mind. Focus only on this light. If you can, position…
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Listen to Your Own Opinion
In February 2020, just weeks prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I spent several days at my parent’s home as a late Christmas gift to them, the gift of time. We live a couple of hours away and decided collectively that mom needed some help organizing and setting up her craft room that had gone unused for years. She’d been cranking out handmade goods for every charity under the sun for years, all while using other spaces in the house and at their church. It seemed like the perfect way to spend some quality time with mom, working on what she loves doing the most. She loves making…
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Origins
I had been waiting. I had almost been ready several times over the last few months, but the timing never felt right. Then, one ordinary evening, the inspiration I had been waiting for finally arrived; it was time to get down to business and start writing again. It was on a Friday evening in October, at the end of a long work week while I stood in front of the open kitchen window washing dishes. There had been a catalyst of sorts beforehand that brought this about, which for me is to be expected. The universe is constantly nudging me along, sometimes painfully, which I humbly appreciate and accept. My husband…
