Growing Up Without a Family: From Survival Mode to Thriving
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ~C. S. Lewis I started life in a poor household with…
Escaping an Abusive Situation: The Hardest Parts and Greatest Lessons
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~Rumi I watched my son get hit by his father, and something inside me finally broke open. Not broke apart.…
Gratitude: The Amazing Superpower Inside Us All
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” ~Marcus Aurelius Gratitude. It used to…
How I Stopped Overexplaining and Found Calm in Conflict
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.” ~Viktor Frankl For a while, I forgot about that space. When conflict…
The Wedding Dress Metaphor: A Powerful Lesson on Being Authentic
“True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” ~Brené Brown This past year, during a season of transition in my…
7 Remote Backpacking Destinations For This Year
Due to ever-growing cities and the parasitic urbanization of natural lands, it can be hard to find remote backpacking destinations these days. Luckily, there are still some places where the…
We Are Allowed to Age: Why I Don’t Care That I Look Old
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” ~African Proverb It is just past ten in the morning on a Tuesday. My wet boardshorts and blue…
How Dry January Improved My Brain Health and My Life
“You are not stuck with the brain you have. You can make it better.” ~Dr. Daniel Amen At the beginning of the year, I had this whole list in my…
Boundaries Begin Within: A Simple Insight That Changed My Life
“I used to tolerate a lot because I didn’t want to lose people. Now I set boundaries because I don’t want to lose myself.” ~Anonymous I used to feel stretched…
When Your Kindness Flows Easily to Others but Not to Yourself
“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ~Louise L. Hay There it was—glaringly obvious on the page.…