“When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.” ~Paulo Coelho I grew up as the first-born daughter—the responsible one, the helper, the one who didn’t want to cause trouble. I learned early how to be “good.” Good meant quiet. Good meant easy. Good meant not […]

“Sometimes people wound us because they’re wounded and tell us we’re broken because that’s how they feel, but we don’t have to believe them.” ~Lori Deschene Age and healing don’t make you invulnerable to moments that can bring you back to the kind of trauma you experienced as a child. […]

“Forgiveness is a painful and difficult process. It’s not something that happens overnight. It’s an evolution of the heart.” ~Sue Monk Kidd Sometimes I hear the word “forgiveness” and I cringe. I’ve been wrestling with this all year because I realized something really uncomfortable: […]

“Highly sensitive people are too often perceived as weaklings or damaged goods. To feel intensely is not a symptom of weakness, it is the trademark of the truly alive and compassionate.” ~Anthon St. Maarten There are some words that get painfully etched into our memories as if with a red-hot […]

“If there is no peace in the minds of individuals, how can there be peace in the world? Make peace in your own mind first.” ~S. N. Goenka  I recently completed my third Vipassana meditation course. There is a moment at the beginning of the course when you surrender your phone (and receive it […]

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ~Ian Maclaren A friend recently told me a story about her mother that stayed with me. They walk together some evenings around her mom’s apartment building—part exercise, part ritual. Her mom doesn’t enjoy small talk. When they […]

“I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.” ~Joseph Campbell I was sitting on my yoga mat with my legs stretched out in front of me. I bent forward into a fold, puffing and clenching my jaw as I extended my […]

“The opposite of belonging is not isolation—it’s fitting in.” ~Brené Brown One of my earliest memories comes from kindergarten. My mom had bought me a new pair of navy-blue corduroy pants for an event at school. We didn’t get new clothes often, so this felt important. But what stayed […]

“What will mess you up most in life is the picture in your head of how it is supposed to be.” ~Unknown I expected to get into college. I expected to have a career after a lot of hard work, and that one day I’d meet a nice man and we would get married. We would buy our first house together and […]

“You teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop, and what you reinforce.” ~Tony Gaskins It was a Tuesday afternoon when I said the word that saved my sanity: “No.” Just two letters. But the weight I’d been carrying for twenty-eight years finally lifted. My phone was […]