Jack Kent wrote a book called There's No Such Thing as a Dragon, which illustrates the idea of noticing and allowing. One morning, a boy wakes up with a tiny dragon in his bedroom. When he tells his mother, she tells him "there is no such thing as dragons." The two proceed to go about … Continue reading Mindfulness: The Dragon
Mindfulness: Allow It
Common to all humanity, at least in my opinion, is the struggle to avoid pain. This includes avoiding the pain that can heal us as well. I dropped a 45lb plate on my big toe a few years ago. That toenail eventually fell off. As it started to grow back, I dropped a tractor tire … Continue reading Mindfulness: Allow It
Question
"Was it rape?" "Can you clarify?" "[person's name]...the first time..." “Let’s process.” After skimming back through Amelia Zachry’s book, Enough: A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania, and Motherhood, I asked my therapist the above question early one Friday evening. The following Tuesday, I sat in my therapist's office feeling lightheaded, weak, and uncomfortable in my skin. … Continue reading Question
Mindfulness: Take Care of Yourself
Photo by Kuno Schweizer on Unsplash Too many times people know how to take care of themselves but don't, for whatever reason. Think about it for a minute. Or, here are some fill-in-the-blank sentences. (Note: these are three examples that I recently experienced). I am so tired, I need to lie down for a minute, … Continue reading Mindfulness: Take Care of Yourself
Enough
I think it was October of 2022 when I ordered a book called Enough: A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania, and Motherhood by Amelia Zachry. I started reading the book almost immediately after receiving it and sent Amelia a message about her story's impact and that I was gleaning so much from it. The more I read, the … Continue reading Enough
Mindfulness: Judgment
The definition of mindfulness, according to Jon Kabat-Zinn, is "paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally." The opposite of judgment is compassion. In my opinion, there are many roads that lead to compassion, but the one I am finding that has not failed me is the road of curiosity. Curiosity is a willingness … Continue reading Mindfulness: Judgment
Mindfulness: Don’t Look Away
Not two months after being released from the Trauma Institute at the Psychological Institute of Washington (D.C.) my brother passed away suddenly. About a week before he passed away, he had called me to chat. I let it go to voicemail but called back later. He didn't answer, so I left him a voicemail message … Continue reading Mindfulness: Don’t Look Away
Suicide
In February, I read David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech at Kenyon College, entitled This is Water. Wallace told a story at the beginning of the book about two fish that were swimming along when they passed an older fish. The older fish said, “how’s the water?” The two other fish questioned each other about what … Continue reading Suicide
Grab the “Biff Pick”
I recently ran across a thought on the internet from a writer I’ve never met who calls himself “Just a Poet Guy.” “Becoming a highly self-aware person is a double-edged sword. You’ll mostly know how to do better, but be prepared for the punishment you’ll serve yourself every time you consciously make a choice to … Continue reading Grab the “Biff Pick”
Curiosity Killed the Cat
“Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.” I have wrongly assumed that was the original proverb. Here’s the thing, the original phrase was actually, “care killed the cat.” That meaning had to do with meddling in others’ business. “Care killed the cat” became “curiosity killed the cat,” and it gathered a more general … Continue reading Curiosity Killed the Cat
Burn the Boat! 