woman in orange sweater standing surrounded by boxes

The power in creating the boxes for yourself that fit you

Labels and boxes are funny things. Some people find comfort in knowing where they stand and where they fit. Others resist having descriptors applied to them.  I think the difference comes largely on whether or not we have a sense of empowerment from those descriptions of us, whether they restrict us or provide us understanding…

a chapel next to a field

Allow parts of yourself to lay fallow until their season comes again

Not everything grows all the time. Sunflowers don’t grow in Oregon winters. And oranges don’t ripen in Florida until there’s a cold snap to ripen the fruit. Yet in a life where you can order something online and have it delivered sometimes the very next day, and we often feel the pressing crush of keeping…

A pile of notes on scraps of paper

Cultivating Gratitude for a Happier, Healthier Life

Gratitude is good for you. If you want to give yourself a present this year, cultivating a gratitude practice is one that can offer you gifts again and again. Gratitude can help improve your relationships,your physical and psychological health, and your self-esteem. It can enhance empathy, increase mental health and reduce aggression, and also help…

An adult woman writing in a journal

Depth-journaling, releasing the steam valve on repressed emotions

It’s taken me a while to write publicly about my healing journey and the processes I’ve used to accomplish it.  Telling your story is hard when you’re still in the middle of it. You don’t know the ending, or how it’s going to go, and that puts you in a vulnerable place. It’s also tricky…