Having spent the better part of two years writing a memoir about how I learned (and am still learning) to live with grief, I can say for certain that grief isn’t exclusively linked to death.
Grief Research
Category: Mindfulness
To See, Change, and Unlearn: Confronting My White Privilege
In therapy, I was taught that the key to effective communication is through “I” statements. They are meant to relate the speaker’s needs and/or feelings to the listener, as opposed “you” statements, which are usually accusatory, blaming, and contain negative attributions about the listener. Whites/people in positions of power have a long history of using … Continue reading To See, Change, and Unlearn: Confronting My White Privilege
“Normal”
I talked to my milkman Wednesday, and I’m sure we’ll talk again tomorrow. He’s the only person I talk to in real life on a regular basis other than my partner Jim and a guy named Ben from Martin’s who puts groceries in my Jeep every other week. Each week, the milkman, also named Jim, … Continue reading “Normal”
Searching for Normal
Normally on Saturdays, Jim and I go on a breakfast adventure. We either try a restaurant we’ve not been to or try something new in the places we have. Jim is always on the lookout for the perfect sausage gravy or creamed chipped beef over home fries. I look for fresh brewed iced tea, non-instant oatmeal, … Continue reading Searching for Normal
“Hope”ful New Year!
I woke to a poem in my inbox this morning, January 1, a day of hope and possibility. At least that’s how it’s marketed. I’m optimistically cautious by nature, and I don’t believe in much, especially fate, destiny or divine intervention. Each of us has the potential to act in accord with our innate goodness. … Continue reading “Hope”ful New Year!
Looking Back… (kind of the Get-Outta-My-Yard-You-Damn-Kids version)
While December 31, 2019 is not technically the end of the decade, it is the end of the 20teens, and despite my fussiness about calendar time (which is arbitrary anyway), I was still drawn to a question someone posted on Twitter a few weeks ago: “As we near the end of the decade, what is … Continue reading Looking Back… (kind of the Get-Outta-My-Yard-You-Damn-Kids version)
Judgy McJudger Chooses the Carrot over the Whip
“We cannot judge ourselves into improvement. It doesn’t work.” Tara Brach Yesterday, I did something I don’t usually do, mostly because I forget it’s the better, kinder thing. I made a pact with myself that if I vacuumed the house, made the bed, and cleaned the toilet, that I would reward myself by starting a … Continue reading Judgy McJudger Chooses the Carrot over the Whip
Pain Is NOT an Identity
Physical pain is something most of us don’t like to talk about in public, or even among friends and family. I mean, seriously, who wants to be that person? Most people wouldn’t believe you anyway if you told them you hurt pretty much all the time, and it’s not easy to brace against the look … Continue reading Pain Is NOT an Identity
There Is Always an Otherwise
It’s early afternoon, and I write this propped up in my bed, listening to it rain…again…with my little dog Zuzu curled up at my side. Next to her is my tablet, in case I want to read or watch a show; my latest journal, which has some angry entries of late; my phone; and the … Continue reading There Is Always an Otherwise
Thin Places
How this happened, I don’t know, but I’d never heard of “thin places” before this morning. (And I’m not talking about skinny.) I was listening to Nikki Mirghafori’s weekly Happy Hour guided meditation. The topic was thin places. As she was explaining what it is, I started to tear up, realizing that I was in … Continue reading Thin Places
