Category: Personal Evolution
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The Dreaded Un-informed Internet Diagnosis Syndrome
“That’s psychosomatic bullshit…hon,” a stranger writes to me. Theforummessage is forwarded to my email account while I’m away from home, so the first few words pop up on the screen of my smart phone while I’m sitting in a meeting. Whoa. What? Hold on. At first convenience,I double check the stranger’s name and the conversation she’s replied…
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The Graduation Speech I Almost Wasn’t Allowed to Make in 1980
When I graduated second in my high school class, all that hard work came with a particular privilege: I got to give one of the short but main speeches before my class and an audience of friends and family. Giving the speech I wanted to give turned out to be one of my first big…
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Taking a Beat from My Obsession with Helping
I’m a naturally giving person. Giving and helping are second nature to me, enough so that I often take it too far. Giving Away Too Much I grew up being preached to about giving more and being selfless, how I should be helping others all the time. It wasn’t until around 2001 when one of…
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If You Knew Where I’d Been
A lot of people, especially my much younger friends, see where I am in my life now and assume everything I have was handed to me or that it was easy. They have NO idea. I have relatives who give me hell over being debt-free except my home but they’re able-bodied and have never held…
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Seeing Clearly: Hidden Mental Illness in Men I’ve Loved
Would you beat this child with a stick? What’s done is done One more second chance would be enough Only on the brink can we see so clearly — “Nocturne, ” Tesseract How could I have been conscious on this planet for the last 50 years and not know I was swimming in poison? …
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Turning Turbulence into Stepping Stones
Traditionally, the last few days of December, people look back over the calendar year and re-assess what happened and where they are. People look back and either check off moments of celebration or their evaluation of the year includes a lot of wincing. If you’re like me and you had a year full of…
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10 Things I Learned over Dinner with an Ex-Boyfriend
I learned 10 things tonight over a two-hour dinner with an old boyfriend, and none of them had to do with the menu, music, or current events. This year, beginning with my birthday in March, has been eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and … full of spiritual lessons. Really, I’m ready for a break, but the insights and…
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Declaring Amnesty on the Past
The day before Thanksgiving, I’m driving down the road, running errands before my girls get home from college, and an epiphany hits me like a ton of bricks: I cut people I love out of my life not because I’m done with them but because I am terrified of them. This autumn has been the…
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The Curse of Attracting Broken People
The day before Thanksgiving, I’m driving down the road, running errands before my girls get home from college, and an epiphany hits me like a ton of bricks: I cut people I love out of my life not because I’m done with them but because I am terrified of them. This autumn has been the…
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Opportunity Doesn’t Just Knock–It Kicks the Door Down
Opportunity doesn’t just knock: it kicks the door down and demands you pay attention. My younger daughter used to say it in a different way, after some incredible dream had presented itself to her all wrapped up in a bow. In her words, “Opportunity isn’t just knocking at my door–it’s in my kitchen making cobblers.” …