Relaxation

TRIGGER WARNING: This post deals with an account of physical abuse and may be triggering to some people. “There remains what seems to be an impenetrable wall of silence around violence, and we must all play a role in breaking this silence.” ~Reese Witherspoon The other day my brother sent me some rare old photographs

“Freedom is taking control of the rudder of your life.” ~Yukito Kishiro “What’s for dinner?” It’s a simple enough question. Yet it’s one that has made me lose my mind at my husband on more than one (or ten or twenty) occasions. It’s not the question itself. It’s a valid question and one that needs

“The struggle of my life created empathy—I could relate to pain, being abandoned, having people not love me.” ~Oprah Winfrey See yourself as a victim and you become one. Identify as a victim and you give your tormentor power over you, the very power to define who you are. Statements like this have become commonly

If you’re anything like me, you’ve likely tried meditation, or even adopted a consistent habit, only to question if you’re doing something wrong. You show up and put in the time, but despite your best efforts, you’re not reaping the expected benefits, or at least not with the consistency you originally hoped to see. Perhaps

“If you love yourself it doesn’t matter if other people don’t like you because you don’t need their approval to feel good about yourself.” ~Lori Deschene In 2010, after a surge of post-ten-day-meditation-course inspiration, I publicly announced to the world that I was going to make a film about me winning the kayak world championships.

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” ~James Allen When I was eighteen I went through a very stressful period, which led to the onset of panic attacks. I often remember how in bed one night I was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of

“When I got sober, I thought giving up was saying goodbye to all the fun and all the sparkle, and it turned out to be just the opposite. That’s when the sparkle started for me.” ~Mary Karr Growing up I thought alcohol meant adulthood. As a child I eagerly watched the cacophony of advertisements, commercials, TV

“Yes, love is all about sacrifice and compromise, but it’s important also to establish a limit. You shouldn’t have to throw your whole life away to make a relationship work. If you have to lose yourself to please your partner, you’re with the wrong person.” ~Beau Taplin When I was twenty, I fell in love

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~Joseph Campbell From as far back as I can remember, I was enchanted with music. One of my earliest memories is of circling a record player while listening to a 45 rpm

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt When it comes to dating, I have always been drawn to people who made me work for their love and validation. Despite the fact that I, like anyone else, wish to be with somebody that loves and supports me, I have always somehow

“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” ~Seneca Many of us say we want a simpler life, but we

“Sensitive people feel so deeply they often have to retreat from the world, in order to dig beneath the layers of pain to find their faith and courage.” ~Shannon L. Alder Being a highly sensitive person can be rough in a world full of agendas, processes, rules, and numbers. Feelings and senses, being intangible and

“Of all things, it would seem, make friends with depersonalization. Enemies within consciousness never work, and only escalate the problem. Befriend it, consider it part of life to work with it. We can’t expel it or cancel it. When we try, the pressure makes a volcano out of it. This is true of so many

“Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the centre of meaningful human experiences” ~Brené Brown From a young age I learned that the world is not a safe place—that there are bullies out there that want to harm me and that I have to watch my back. I developed defense mechanisms in order to protect myself,

“And some days life is just hard. And some days are just rough. And some days you just gotta cry before you move forward. And all of that is okay.” ~Unknown Over the years I’ve built myself a bit of a reputation as “the emotional one.” I was always the first to cry at weddings,

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” ~Oscar Wilde The journey to meeting, loving, and re-parenting my inner child was a long time coming. In 2018, I went through a devastating breakup. I’d been through breakups before. They suck, they hurt, some of them left me in deep abysses of sadness for

“Happiness can only be found if you free yourself from all other distractions.” ~Saul Bellow What was your favorite toy as a child? Mine was a Spider-Man action figure. The limbs were adjustable, and there was a switch on his back that made his eyes light up. I played with that toy for years, even

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ~Rumi Three years back was the first time I dared to set a boundary and be assertive in a friendship, and guess what? She blocked me off her phone, and we stopped being friends. It

“Winning the war of words inside your soul means learning to defy your inner critic.” ~Steven Furtick We all have that voice in our head, the voice that’s always negative about ourselves. Our inner voice.  Our inner critic. The one that tells us we’re not good enough, not smart enough, not attractive enough. That voice

“Tears are words that need to be written.” ~Paulo Coelho It was lovely to see you today. I haven’t seen you in such a long time. So much has happened since the last time we saw each other. You asked me how I was. I politely replied, “I’m fine” and forced a smile that I

“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.” ~Eckhart Tolle Do you ever catch yourself being critical, judgmental, or full of fear and worry? And do you ever worry about how many negative thoughts you have? If you do, this post is for you. We’re taught that negative thoughts are bad, that they’re

“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.” ~Steve Maraboli I’ve noticed that things go much more smoothly when I give up control—when I allow them to happen instead of making them happen. Unfortunately, I’m terrible at this. Although I’m much better than I used to be, I’m a bit

“The best possible thing you can get out of a relationship is that you’re with someone who encourages you to be the best version of yourself every day.” ~Nishan Panwar Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you felt supported? When was the last time you felt safe, at home, encouraged,

“How people treat other people is a direct reflection of how they feel about themselves.” ~Paulo Coelho By nature, I am a happy, optimistic, idealistic person. I have always been one to look on the bright side and see the good in people. My usual philosophy in life is that the world is full of

“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by myself.” ~Brian Andreas Do you ever forget to take care of yourself? I know. You’re busy, and finding the time to take proper care of yourself can be hard. But

“Never feel sorry for choosing yourself.” ~Unknown I was eleven years old, possibly twelve, the day I first discovered my mother’s betrayal. I assume she didn’t hear me when I walked in the door after school. The distant voices in the finished basement room of our home drew me in. My mother’s voice was soft

Most of us can be way too hard on ourselves, when life is already hard enough. We spend our days taking an inventory of all the ways we’re falling short, tell ourselves we’re not good enough, and even question our basic goodness, as if there’s something wrong with us at our core. I know I’ve

“A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.” ~Jim Morrison When I left my full-time position at an ad agency and ventured out on my own, I had a clear goal in mind—to connect with likeminded people who align with my highest good. As far as how I was going to

“I really want to, but I can’t because [add semi-valid reason here].” That’s a template sentence to let yourself off the hook. It’s not copyrighted, so feel free to use it any time you want to let go of your dreams and not feel bad about it. Honestly, it hurts me every time I hear

“We only live once, Snoopy.” ~Charlie Brown “Wrong. We only die once. We live every day.” ~Snoopy I am an anxious person. I haven’t always been though. When I had my first child, fourteen years ago, it was the week after my father died. My son was born and went right to the NICU where