"The less I think, the more I love." -My friend I have come to trust, despite dubious moments, that there is no solution in rough and tough self-talk and obsessive thinking. You know. The thinking that warns and threatens. That runs the black and white tapes of rigidity and scarcity. The bad girl tales. Those are beyond…
Spirit
To Live
To live in the world is to live with courage. I don't care what walk of life you walk - it is hard for humans everywhere. It is also a blessing and a bizarre trip - to have a body and heart and a mind and to put water and dead animals and plants into our…
The Power of Gratitude
It's that time of year again where we practice giving thanks and reflecting on all that is blessed is in our lives. For some, this can feel like a shallow undertaking of mumbling predictable niceties, and others may not be able to feel any thanks, bombarded with problems and pains as they are. Understandable. We…
Boredom or Suffering
Take your pick. Which one would you rather feel? It has been said that humans must often choose between one or the other as a general rule of their human experience. One might consider the two to be synonymous; after all, extreme boredom can be a sort of suffering, and the experience of profound pain…
Suffer On
My friend is suffering. His head and heart are boiling with that sticky dread of self-hatred and hopelessness. He feels he is broken beyond repair. He thinks there is something deeply wrong with him. He's trying everything, as a sober alcoholic, to not feel. He doesn't believe me when I say I have been there,…
What Does Courage Look Like?
Sometimes you fall flat on your face and discover that something is not at all what you thought it would be. Something you planned turned out to be greatly disappointing. And that's OK. I am nine days into my travels here in Thailand, and I haven't been this miserable in quite some time. Let me…
Travel and Fear
I leave in less than 48 hours for Bangkok, and I have been crying a lot. I've experienced physical pain, turmoil, and anxiety. Yes, part of it is because I have recently fallen in love and will be saying goodbye to him for at least a month and probably longer. But I believe the even…
In Google We Trust
Just Google it. We all do it. And boy does it deliver. But I can get out of hand with it. You know, search for the meaning of life and the holy grail and the proof that I am worthy with a few clicks of the keyboard. It's possible that due to growing up in…
Layers
the anger is thick, deep, it is like a crust, molded and beginning to stink, for so long it has festered, I’ve tended to it like a garden, conjuring thorns, weeds, a swarm of insects, I have seemed to like it– but it’s the emergence of grief that breaks through, the tenderness that cuts it,…
Open Mind/Heart
People would probably describe being "open-minded" as having the ability to accept many walks of life, judging less and loving more, being willing to have new experiences, listening. All of that is true. But there is an even deeper meaning to a truly open mind that in turn lends itself to being able to accept and…
A Full Life 