“Look for something positive each day, even if some days you have to look a little harder.” ~Unknown This weekend I hurt more than I have in a very long time. It all started on Friday, when my boyfriend and I headed out to spend the weekend with friends—two couples, both with babies in tow. …
Tag: pain
Healing Chronic Pain Is an Inside Job
“Time is not a cure for chronic pain, but it can be crucial for improvement. It takes time to change, to recover, and to make progress.” ~Mel Pohl Let’s face it, living with any kind of physical pain is a challenge. I understand that completely. In the fall of 2007, I contracted an extremely painful …
There Are a Gazillion Little Ways to Be Kind (and It Benefits You Too)
“The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands.” ~Robert M. Pirsig One day while grocery shopping I was reaching for a head of lettuce when I heard a shrill, high-pitched wail from a few aisles over. It sent shivers up my spine. It was one of those …
8 Things I Learned from Watching My Mum Die
“Pain changes your life forever. But so does healing from it.” ~Kayil York In 2012 my mum got diagnosed with cancer. After an operation, she was cancer-free for some time when in March 2017 it was discovered that the cancer had returned and had spread everywhere, notably to her lungs. She was adamant that she …
Why I Got Caught Up in the Drama of an On-and-Off Relationship
“One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up instead of what they have to gain.” ~Rick Godwin Dave and I met earlier this January. I was immediately attracted to his aquamarine eyes and his tattoos. I met him on the eve of my twenty-sixth birthday and, based …
How Journaling Helped Me Heal from Grief and How It Can Help You Too
“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” ~C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed The day I was told that the man I loved was going to die from cancer, I did two things: I made a pact with myself never to have more than one bottle of wine in the house. I …
Speaking Your Truth Even When It Feels Painful and Shameful
“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” ~Brené Brown I was sexually assaulted during my senior year of college. Shortly after, I received a hefty check in the mail from the guy who did it as a “graduation gift.” I spent many nights tossing …
Understanding the Cycle of Pain: How to Transmute Anger into Empathy
“When we get angry, we suffer. If you really understand that, you also will be able to understand that when the other person is angry, it means that she is suffering. When someone insults you or behaves violently towards you, you have to be intelligent enough to see that the person suffers from his own …
Stop Talking So You Can Start Feeling
“Don’t hide from your feelings. Press into them. Learn from them. Grow from them.” ~Unknown There have been times in my life when you could look at my cell phone call log and see back-to-back conversations for hours. I am blessed to have a large support system of loving friends and family, and there have …
3 Things That Are Helping Me Deal with Stress, Pain, and Loss
“Being on a spiritual path does not prevent you from facing times of darkness; but it teaches you how to use the darkness as a tool to grow.” ~Unknown Life has not been kind lately. My aunt passed away in October. She had been suffering from cancer, but her family kept the extent of her …