The Addictive Power of Fear May 22, 2015 • 8 Comments “Fear is a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life.” -Donald Miller I just returned from a week in Northern California, where I took my son for his college orientation. It was a few days of magic, watching the world unfold through the eyes of an 18 year old about to set off in life. We…
Courage to Heal: Cultivating Your Bravery Muscle May 16, 2014 • 2 Comments As a traveler on the healing path, I am really beginning to understand how easy, yet ultimately more difficult, it is to move away from discomfort. Pain is not something we are taught to explore or embrace and we have become incredibly adept at avoiding it by pushing it as far away as possible, numbing it with drugs and alcohol,…
Healing Resources: Sit. Stay. Heal. September 20, 2013 • 0 Comments I am a big fan of Pema Chödrön and I adore her book The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. I opened the pages many times during the last three years and found myself guided and comforted by the simple, yet profound wisdom on the pages. One of my favorite passages: “How are we going…
Harness Fear On Your Behalf: Embracing Traumatic Anniversaries August 12, 2013 • 4 Comments “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” –Joseph Campbell On the heels of my post on fear last week, which resonated with a lot of people (thank you for all the emails and comments), it became quite clear that a lot of us allow fear to bully us into places beneath our truest selves. In honor…
Facing Your Fears: On Courageous Introspection & Monster Hunting July 3, 2013 • 2 Comments I went on a monster hunt with the most adorable 4-year-old boy the other day. Apparently, my backyard is infested with them, so, armed with a sword and measuring cups + spoons (not sure why, but they were essential), we set out to remedy the problem. I never actually saw one of these scary creatures, but they were plainly visible…