“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” ~Sam Keen When we fall in love, we feel excited to experience some of the most joyful moments of our lives. Because love is supposed to be the source of the best feelings, right? But what …
Tag: wisdom
Coping with Your Partner’s Life-Altering Medical Condition
“We don’t know what’s causing it,” I say to friends for what feels like the hundredth time. My boyfriend has been unable to walk or stand without pain for two years. And no doctors can seem to figure out why. We were in our early twenties and had only been dating for a few months before …
5 Practices That Helped Me Stop Being a People Pleaser
“If you spend your life pleasing others, you spend your life.” ~Cheryl Richardson Looking back on my life, I came to realize that I spent quite a high amount of my precious time trying. Trying to be perfect. Trying to be appreciated and liked by everyone else around me. Trying to fit in with different …
Someday This Will Be Funny
“A great attitude becomes a great mood. A great mood becomes a great day. A great day becomes a great year. A great year becomes a great life.” ~Unknown I was already in a terrible mood by the time we arrived at the hotel around 7:30pm. It was Thanksgiving, and my family and I had …
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 …
Why I Chose Authenticity Over Fitting In or Standing Out
“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” ~EE Cummings For many years I felt like a fish out of water, but I desperately wanted to belong …
What My Dog Taught Me About Self-Acceptance
“Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” ~Lao Tzu We all have recorded messages playing in our heads, from long ago. Listen to parents talking to young children. Often the message is less than approving. “Don’t put that in your mouth!” “Go wash your face right now.” “If you keep acting …
How to Stop Losing Yourself and Giving Your Power Away in Dating
“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.” ~Brené Brown I was a serial dater for a decade. Dating can be fun and exciting, but it can also come with lots of disappointment and emotional pain. All those rejections, ghosting, and shattered hopes had a …
Life Lessons from a Wanderer: From Lost Boy, to Carnie, to U.S. Marine
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ~Rumi How did this happen? I remember the wind tearing at the walls of my tent, bending the humble, graphite rods almost double. I was burrowed down in my sleeping bag, which was one of …
The Top 7 Reasons We Stay in Bad Relationships
“Some of us think that holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” ~Hermann Hesse She knew it sooner than I did. And more intensely than I did. I, on the other hand, may have considered our differences but never thought of them as deal-breakers. I tried to justify the many struggles …