Posts: Self-Awareness
The Courage to Face Ourselves
Thoughts on our capacity for self-reflection
Feb 12, 2024
It was the small mirror that first caught my eye as I approached the table to sit down. It was accompanied by a large light brown paper for coloring and markers. I didn’t know any of the other 15 or so people who signed up for this Poetry Workshop. But it sounded right up my alley and worth giving up every Saturday morning in February for. The theme of the workshop—self-portrait.
Inertia of the Soul
Finding ways to resuscitate our deepest desires
Aug 13, 2023
Overstimulated. It’s a word we hear quite often, especially in our social media–heavy, technology-obsessed, devices-galore, insta-everything world. It happens to kids and adults alike, and it’s hard to get away from. We can take social media breaks, go on silent retreats, take a vacation, detox, and meditate, but eventually we find ourselves right back in hyper-stimulation mode.
One Pause at a Time
Learning how to recognize our default reactions
Apr 18, 2023
The argument was meaningless, as many marital arguments tend to be. One sentence became a trigger for the other, which led to defensiveness and trying to prove each other’s points. Things got taken out of context, the past was brought into the present, the words “always” and “never” got thrown around… the usual culprits.
An Outlet for the Ache
Lessons learned from a speeding ticket
Jan 26, 2023
It's 8:30 pm on a Monday in December. I'm driving home from an ASL class at a local community college. Thankfully it's not snowing, but the back-country roads of this neighboring town close to my house aren't streetlight-friendly, so I'm eager to get home and out of the pitch black. Hunger pains are also causing me to go faster than I should.
What No Longer Serves Us
Facing our shortcomings through the art of letter writing
Jan 18, 2023
There are many ways to ring in the new year. From old traditions passed down over time to new ones created for ourselves, we all have ways to welcome the beginning of a new 12-month cycle. One ritual that I have very recently begun implementing is writing a letter. To whom? A letter to anything that no longer serves me and that I want to let go of moving forward.
The Gift and the Curse of the Artist’s Life
Mar 19, 2021
Sometimes the words don’t come. They stubbornly refuse to show up and be tied down. Perhaps they have better places to be, other writers to visit for the day. Even in the waiting, the silence, I have to trust the process. In the mundane act of holding still, there has to be a sense of conviction that no amount of stillness is ever wasted, if done with presence and purpose.
A Closer Look at Anger
What emotions have to teach us
Feb 15, 2021
Let’s talk about anger. It’s not an emotion I’m fond of, or can easily express. Rather, it’s one I try my darndest to suppress. Truth be told, it terrifies me. Anytime it wants to surface, I close the lid, reel it back in. Often, I just transform it into sadness. Aren’t they just two sides of the same coin?
To Sit Quietly In A Room
Spiritual reflections on COVID-19
Mar 14, 2020
Even without stepping outside, I can feel the eerie quiet of the city. The dust is not even close to settling, but there is a feeling of culmination in the air. Of something ending, making way for a new type of living. If ever we were asked to take stock of our lives and all the precious things and people in them, it is now.
Saying ‘No Thank You’ to Gratitude Practices
When popular spiritual practices just don’t work for you
Mar 19, 2019
I must confess something. It may come as a shock to some. Dare I say it out loud? Here goes… gratitude practices don’t work for me. In fact, I don’t even like them. There, I said it. Anything from gratitude lists, gratitude journaling, gratitude meditations, you name it, I’ve tried it. Repeatedly. Over an extended period of time. And it just doesn’t work for me.
You’re Not That Special
Why this thought can liberate you
Feb 26, 2019
This is the thought I have in the Uber ride home from a workshop I attended out of curiosity. It came out of nowhere, seemingly, and yet, it felt like the missing puzzle piece I was struggling to find for so long. It was one of those rare thoughts you have once in a blue moon that hits you like a brick, penetrating to the core of something you’ve been struggling with and haven’t been able to find the answer to.
The Hidden Gifts of Our Dispositions
And their potential for our personal growth
Feb 12, 2019
Prone to melancholy. That’s how the pastor described the personality type #4 that I most relate to on the Enneagram. It’s a new sermon series the church started in which they teach on this ancient and insightful tool for self-awareness. My personality type — the “Individualist” — is sensitive, introspective, and self-aware, among other things.
The Sifting of Soul Work
Listening to the stirrings from within
Feb 05, 2019
I’ll be honest. I don’t feel like writing right now. Or doing much of anything, let alone try and be creative. But I committed to writing at least once a week. So I’m here, showing up, despite my inner refusal. I don’t want my art to suffer for the sake of my comfort, or how I feel in this particular moment.
What Do You Need to Release in the New Year?
Thoughts on letting go of what no longer serves us
Jan 15, 2019
The sun is setting on this Sunday afternoon. It will come back, I have to reassure myself, with the looming darkness. The sky, shades of buttermilk and saffron. Kids below in the park, making snow angels before the snow melts, as it will. The passing of January, taking place right before my eyes, in spurts of moments and people flitting to-and-fro.
The One Thing (among others) that Makes Us Uniquely Human
Sep 24, 2018
What sets us humans apart from other species? Scholars from numerous and diverse fields have attempted to answer this question. The ability to plan for the future, many might say. Developing meaning out of nothing, still others will say. I think something that seems to be fundamentally human is the desire for and work toward personal growth.
When Your Comfort Zone Becomes Your Dead Zone
Nov 01, 2016
I want so badly to tell you a more interesting story, but for now, all I have is the one of a girl who is terrified to step outside her comfort zone and yet at the same time, is desperately longing to. See, I know a thing or two about comfort zones. Actually I know too much. More than I’d like to admit.