The Through Line

"The stable solution is the individual who tells the truth." Like any relatively young person stumbling along and thirsting to learn, there is plenty that I don't know and understand. Because I tend to write so personally and from direct experience, much of what I state on here vacillates and changes. As I have grown up…

The Loss of Anger

"I never get angry. I grow a tumor instead." -Woody Allen As a child in the nineties, I idolized women who were angry and restless and lived to write and sing their fury. Fiona Apple, Gwen Stefani, Erykah Badu, Alanis Morrissette, Lauryn Hill, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Shirley Manson - even Madonna (before she became an enlightened…

Disarm

Dian Fossey, famous zoologist and anthropologist, who spent an extensive amount of time studying gorillas in their natural habitat, came to understand that the best way to approach the magnificent creatures was without weapons of any kind. It was a daring undertaking - gorillas are potentially dangerous; no doubt their strength and size could cause…

Savor It All

"Savoring" is trending right now as part of mindfulness work, meaning that if we can spend just a few more seconds each day really taking in and delighting in that which is pleasant - the sun on our face, laughing with a friend, a delicious meal - we are increasing our ability to feel joy and…

The Highest Value

I've been thinking quite a bit about values lately and what matters most to me deep in my guts. What am I on this earth for? What is actually important? How meaningful are the things that sometimes seem worthwhile but that tend to cause suffering? Some people put values into the context of, what do we worship?…

A Journey of Beliefs Pt. 1

Universal Stories Belief and meaning, (and it is by believing that we derive meaning and discovering meaning that further deepens our beliefs) play a significant role in the continuous development of the human at the psychological and spiritual level. We, ideally, focus our beliefs on honorable virtues and values without becoming too puritanical or too…

The Circus

"This is the circus. Everybody's trying to not go home."   To be human is to be a social creature, and it is an endless adventure and collection of lessons to interact with other beings and establish relationship. I have learned over time that relationships can work like a drug - we get so high on…