Perhaps there is some love hidden deep within the relationship, but it’s not what’s showing up in this whirl. Here’s the dance: He feels like a piece of sh*t. She can’t bear his suffering. He goes down to the depths of pain and she ties her rope to him in hopes of saving him from […]

It was 2006 at Easter Brunch out in the Texas Hill Country. Carol, a mom of my son’s classmate was grumbling about her dog, a young, yellow lab named Henry. They really loved him, but were very concerned that they’d have to give him away due to his escape artistry. “He jumps the fence all […]

  Tragedy strikes. And it breaks our heart open. Sometimes we get stretched beyond all reason, beyond all endurance, to the point of breaking. Seeing it, my heart goes out with compassion.   Compassion for ourselves, for our daily failures. Compassion for others, for helplessness in the face of powers greater than human. Compassion that […]

“That sounds so selfish.” That comment is voiced regularly in my office and I’m delighted when I hear it. It shows me that there’s some awareness of a feeling that’s uncomfortable enough to examine. Usually, the “that sounds so selfish” question comes from the belief that the wishes of others should come first. That’s the […]

Do you go down rabbit holes? Does it take you off course? My invitation to rabbit holes is resistance. For me, resistance is not so much about staying stuck in one place as it is about not staying the course. Instead of persisting, of staying the course, I resist—by chasing rabbits. I’d much rather race […]

My son is living with me this summer as he commutes to his college internship. He’s a kind and gentle young man and I like him a lot. But, having him here reminds me how much I have to work with myself to refrain from taking his learning away from him. In that refrain is […]

If you follow along with me on FB, you know transitions have been a theme the last few weeks. One thing that makes them doable is the punctuation at the end. (I was saddened when I learn that two spaces after a period was no longer proper grammatical style.) Ok, so I’ll change metaphors. The […]

You’ve celebrated—or survived—another Mother’s Day. Whatever the day held, your experience of Mother’s Day was unique. It was yours, and yours alone. But the question I want to ask on this week after Mother’s Day is universal. Now that you’ve had your experience of Mother’s Day, how did you mother yourself? Were you kind and […]

When I think of celebrating Mother’s Day, I think of having my children here at home with me, spending time together as a family. That would be the perfect gift.   Or would it?   On the one hand, being with my kids and doing something special, like going on a bike ride together on […]

Thirty minutes flew by last week when I was being interviewed by my friend and colleague, Donna Parker. She’s an acupuncturist and health coach with a radio show—way cool. I hope you’ll listen in as we discuss thinking and feeling at the same time, ways we recreate upsets from the past and simple solutions to […]