The holiday season has arrived once again. This is not an easy time of year for many of us, me included. I wrote about ambiguous loss and family estrangement a few years ago, and most of what I wrote in that post in 2018 is still true. I don’t see or talk to anyone in … Read more
In 2017 I filed bankruptcy. The act of doing that was life changing for me. I was very ashamed of getting myself in trouble with my finances. I resolved to gain control of my relationship with money. Turns out, growing up in a household with parents who had generational trauma around finances didn’t teach me … Read more
I’ve been in Siesta Key, Florida this past week. As you know, I live in cold, gray, wintery in November Minnesota and like you I’ve been on lock-down due to the pandemic for almost two years. One of my dear athletic friends Jenny figured out a few years ago that one of the best ways … Read more
Two years ago, I did the Monster Dash 10K race with my friend Shirlene. I wrote about it here. I mentioned that I was proud that I completed the route in 80 minutes. I had good blood sugars and a solid race day strategy. My recollection of the run was that I was pretty wiped … Read more
“You can’t go back to the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ~ C. S. Lewis Winter is a long season in Minnesota and many of us here in this cold, gray, snowy state suffer once colorful, glorious October ends and the temperatures drop in November. Just the other … Read more
Every year I review my treatment plan with my psychotherapist. I have a diagnosis of PTSD that makes complete sense to me given my childhood, my health challenges and the layers of trauma I have survived in my life. This past week, my therapist and I were again reviewing my treatment plan and she asked … Read more
“Compassion involves the recognition and clear seeing of suffering. It also involves feelings of kindness for people who are suffering, so that the desire to help – to ameliorate suffering – emerges. Finally, compassion involves recognizing our shared human condition, flawed and fragile as it is. Self-compassion, by definition, involves the same qualities. Self-compassion involves … Read more
I’ve been a regular goer to the Midtown Farmers Market for more than six years now. End of summer is simply glorious, because, despite the terrible drought we are experiencing here in Minnesota, the smells and colors at the Farmers Market have exploded with deliciousness. I mentioned in my post last week, Pandemic 2.0, that … Read more
I don’t have a high amount of fear most days of my life. What about you? Can you recognize when fear hits you? As a result of working hard to recognize my emotions as they move through my body, I’ve become more aware when fear grips me. Fear gripped me tight on Sunday, August 8th … Read more
Climate change is happening. Sometimes it’s difficult to believe a thing if you haven’t personally experienced it. For those of us who are middle class, average folks, perhaps even part of the privileged class, the idea of climate change is more compelling than the reality of climate change. I’m embarrassed to admit but that’s how … Read more