There is a difference between denying my voice and choosing how I use it. “Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy? Forgive yourself and stop punishing yourself.”—Louise Hay Several months ago, I entered into what I thought was a discussion about essential oils. In case you don’t already know,… Continue reading I Don’t Need the Last Word
Tag: mindfulness
The World Is My Oyster and I Am the Pearl
A few months ago, I fell into a hole. Not a real hole, although sometimes it felt deep enough to qualify. Something happened that frightened me. Fear opened the door to frustration and anger, and before long I was feeling powerless, desperate, and more than a little sorry for myself. I wallowed. For days, weeks,… Continue reading The World Is My Oyster and I Am the Pearl
God, Coffee & a Three-Legged Cat
Just because you are seeing divine light, experiencing waves of bliss, or conversing with Gods and Goddesses is no reason to not know your zip code.— Ram Dass I just finished my morning chat with God and came away with a simple recognition of some basic truths—the kind that are so easily overlooked and sometimes… Continue reading God, Coffee & a Three-Legged Cat
People Plan, God Laughs
Lord Honey Bear had a favorite saying: People plan, God laughs. It took a field of very hungry deer to show me exactly what he meant. There was a time, many years ago, when growing marijuana wasn’t just frowned upon—it was illegal. Naturally, Lord Honey Bear, Lord Greenjeans, and I decided it sounded like a… Continue reading People Plan, God Laughs
The Sacred Threshold
Lady Uppity woke feeling sad. And a little terrified. Perhaps I’m just a little homesick. After all, it had been two months since she left home, relocating while the mold was eradicated and the flooring repaired. Insurance delays had stretched the work far longer than anyone expected. Lost in thought, sipping her morning coffee and… Continue reading The Sacred Threshold
Wobbling
Lady Uppity had become well acquainted with wobbling. It hadn’t always been that way. Once upon a time, she walked without giving a single thought to where her feet might land. Then, one February morning a few years ago, life insisted she pay attention. She woke in pain. Intense inflammation had settled into her body,… Continue reading Wobbling
Lady Uppity Drops the Charges
Forgiving Herself for Past Mistakes The discovery that she had spent so much of her life abandoning herself in an effort to be loved and accepted took Lady Uppity’s breath away. As she sat in the early morning light, sipping her coffee and wondering what might come next, she felt an unexpected surge, like the… Continue reading Lady Uppity Drops the Charges
How Am I Not Myself
Refusing to Abandon Ourselves A few evenings ago, while watching a movie with Lady Birdsong, a single line caught Lady Uppity’s attention: How am I not myself? The question lingered. The longer she sat with it, the stranger it became, so much so that she set her wine glass down and jotted a note in… Continue reading How Am I Not Myself
The Quiet Search for Approval
Lady Uppity was exhausted and didn’t fully realize just how tired she was until her head hit the pillow that first night. She slept for hours, woke only long enough to eat some yummy fruit and toast — thanks to Lady Birdsong’s generosity and kindness — then promptly took another nap before going to bed… Continue reading The Quiet Search for Approval
There Was Now a Moon Circle on Thursdays
Lady Uppity had slowly, finally, stopped assigning authorship of her inner state to other people. She now recognized just how deeply she had betrayed herself by remaining tethered to others’ opinions and needs. The atmosphere of the kingdom of Proper Behavior — so named by the Duke of Worrington — was changing. Once, it had… Continue reading There Was Now a Moon Circle on Thursdays