You’ve done enough watering my friend. It’s time to be garden for once. — Spiritual Asylum — To all our bold, and brilliant, and beautiful: Helpers Mentors Nurturers Advocates Caretakers Supporters Encouragers Cheerleaders And anyone else who has relentlessly and unabashedly spent years, decades, and lifetimes being the soil, the sunlight, and the rain to…
What would you tell your younger self if you had just five minutes with them? What wisdom would you share, what insight would you provide, what warnings would you scream to help them avoid what, at the time, seemed pretty unavoidable based on exactly who we were back then? If I had five minutes…
For as long as I can remember back? This first day of the fair was always the day we took off. At first, I started inviting and asking people to join us, like Mimi, Dad, or friends — but it always ended up being just “me and my gang.” So I stopped asking and left…
Freedom is the moment you finally stopped filling in holes carelessly dug by someone else’s shovel. As a former people-pleaser, chronic problem-fixer, current empath, and occasional codependent, I have so many seasons in my life that could be effectively labeled: Have Shovel, Will Travel. For far too long, I wore my ability to fill…
Freedom is knowing that there’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all forgiveness — the very moment you realize forgiveness comes in a million different shapes, sizes, forms and distances. There are two things about forgiveness that I know to be true. First, there is nothing simple about forgiveness. It’s complicated and layered, nuanced and complex in…
Turning the page on pretty much anything in life can be challenging under even the best of circumstances — but starting fresh (or simply starting over) gets especially difficult when it feels like external factors like seasons, and weather, and life relationships don’t want to cooperate. Technically, it’s been Spring for weeks, but New England…
Here’s a secret that took me way too long to learn: It’s okay to prioritize your needs over someone else’s expectations. You read that right. Your needs. Someone else’s expectations. Can you even imagine? At first blush, it feels so deeply selfish and inherently weak. So uncomfortable, so distasteful, so impolite —something I truly thought…
Most of us have experienced grief and loss in this life that, at least at the time, we felt like we would never overcome. The intrusive and unpredictable tidal waves of emotions that grief can bring vary from person to person. Still, I was sure that my early childhood and young adult experiences with grief…
It’s a new year, and the “new year, new you” messaging is everywhere. But for once, I am not going to be sucked into the New Year’s resolution hype. Instead, I’m opting to do something I never thought I’d do: I’m boycotting New Year’s resolutions in 2023 — and I think you should too. I…
The biggest lesson I’m learning this holiday season — build your traditions in the sand. I had a recent conversation with someone close to me who said she feels that when it comes to the holidays, most of us are just doing what’s expected of us out of an unwavering sense of obligation. And that…