A psychiatrist once told me that when people reach a breaking point with a mental health issue, they tend to deal with it in one of three ways: The religion part was the surprise punchline but after a few beats it made sense. If a […]
All posts tagged: mindfulness
The Anatomy of a Panic Attack
This is a story about a panic attack that threw a top-level, high-performing, rock-solid leader for a loop. For decades she’d been the person — at work and home alike – everyone turned to for steadiness, for staying power, for perspective, for answers. I will […]
How Does Your Dinner Taste
Sometimes we get so tangled up in our mind we have a hard time seeing clearly — being able to see where we are — which is why this poem by a young Japanese schoolboy* is so startling: In the middle of Japan, surrounded byThe […]
Recognizing Lovely
We all want to feel alive and feel the vitality of life coursing through us but lately my hands have made me aware of the very opposite, aware of vitality slipping away. Lately, these hands have become a big problem in my life. I’ve got […]
I’m so happy
Sometimes when I go about trying to be present, I wonder if I might be corrupting — just a wee bit — the actual living of my life with all that deliberate, effortful awareness. The extra awareness can almost make it feel like I’ve created […]
Wisdom from the couch
As my sister says, “You go to therapy so I don’t have to.” As I always say, “Jokes on you because therapy rules!” And that’s especially handy right now when we are all at risk for developing a level of post-traumatic stress by the time […]
Misunderstanding
There has been a misunderstanding. I thought the object was to be better, thinner, faster and richer. I see now I was confused. The object is to hold my seat so that I can know and be who I truly am.
I’m sorry. You’re clearly wrong
Just when I think I’m solid, really solid on eating eggs without uneasy qualms about my cardiovascular peril, my eyes chance upon a headline that hardens my heart. There is a subtle implication here I do not like. Quick as a flash I shut that […]
Setting the stage, part 1
Philip Henderson, you don’t know it but you walked across my stage and initiated the climactic turning point the plot of my play hinged upon, the one I’d been reaching and reaching for these past 12 years. Alas, this starring role came at a price, […]
Be cool. 