“If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.” ~Lao Tzu
I spent a lot of time in my life being angry. At one point I hated everything and almost everyone. I had a saying for a while: “God, I hate people.” I hated the people driving in front of me on the way to the store, then in the parking lot of the store, then inside the store.
I hated my job. I used to love my job. It’s what I chose to do, what I went to school …
“Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot” ~Hausa Proverb
In my early, dark days of first acquiring a disability, I didn’t feel I had an awful lot to be thankful for.
It was like I had spent my whole life getting to the point where I had a thriving holistic therapy practice I loved, an amazing social life with great friends, and my beautiful dog, who I would regularly take into the country for long walks and my adrenaline pumping exercise routine.
Life was perfect. I had so much to be grateful for, but then it …
“Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.” ~Unknown
I was fired via email as my plane touched down at LAX.
I am not the kind of person who gets fired, who gets dismissed, who is asked to leave and is not welcomed back.
This was not my track record, no. What was happening?
I had seen the ad on Craigslist, and it looked perfect. An educational theater program for kids was seeking instructors and administrators to help revitalize the company. They needed someone with current experience in the entertainment industry who was an educator, and also had …
“There are no failures. Just experiences and your reactions to them.” ~Tom Krause
Ever found yourself working for a bad boss? I was shocked to learn recently that three out of every four people report that their boss is the most stressful part of their job and that it takes most of us up to twenty-two months to free ourselves of them.
I thought it was just me!
A few years ago I joined a large accounting firm to help them manage their employees. Though they were nice enough people outside of work, at the office, their professional pride …
“Our strength grows out of our weaknesses.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
In my youth, I strived to be “nice.” I tolerated a lot from others. I forgave easily and learned to “turn the other cheek.”
I made myself constantly available to other people and asked nothing in return. I remained loyal even if people mistreated me. I helped friends even when my need for help was greater. When friends started calling me their “angel,” I was proud at first.
But soon I became resentful of what that implied.
If my purpose was solely to help them, then who would help me?…
“You are very powerful, provided you know how powerful you are.” ~Yogi Bhajan
It took me a second to realize what was happening.
I was hanging onto a rope and headed straight for the sky.
I must have been around 100 feet in the air. I was looking at the ground and it kept getting smaller and smaller. I couldn’t take it anymore and closed my eyes.
When I opened them again I was lying in my bed.
But this was no ordinary dream. I was actually aware of what was happening, as it happened. I was “awake” inside my …
I’ve written about ways to get better sleep, and yet I am writing this post from a state of exhaustion.
Despite knowing all the right things to do, sometimes it’s difficult to follow through.
You can have the most calming, zen bedroom, and still toss and turn because of an ache or something on your mind. You can avoid stimulants and start unwinding early in the evening, and still wake up to the sound of a blaring siren at 2:00 AM.
Sometimes the best laid plan can fall apart when you can’t seem to remove that pea from under …
“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.” ~Eckhart Tolle
I wake up. I take a look outside.
I take a breath in and just appreciate where this dream has taken me.
I want to be a ninja.
Yeah, it sounds a little strange.
Probably even weirder when I tell you I have a Master’s degree in education, am a former teacher, and I’m about to turn thirty.
You could call it a quarter life crisis, assuming I’ll live to be 120.
But I prefer to call it …
“The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.” ~Elbert Hubbard
My self-awareness grows while watching an eight-year-old boy navigate Sudoku.
He wants to be good at the game, but he doesn’t want to do the work. He wants to know the next right answer without having to think.
His approach to the puzzle is one box at a time, filling in a number at random. He doesn’t realize each little mistake right away; he may get through a row or column, but eventually it catches up with him.
He then tries to backtrack, which …
“Turn you face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.” ~Māori Proverb
I am looking out of the window of the airplane. We are above the clouds; the evening sun is just setting. There is a glow all around me. I am lost in this moment. I feel like I’ve never been closer to the heavens. I can stay here in these clouds forever. I am at peace.
I am returning from my first trip to Jamaica.
I went to this island paradise on what was supposed to be a fun, party trip. Yes I had fun …
“The world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming it.” ~Helen Keller
You’ve probably heard the saying “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”
For many years, I didn’t understand how pain and suffering were different from each other. They seemed inextricably wrapped up together, and I took it for granted that one was the inevitable consequence of the other.
However, as I have grown to understand my own capacity to create happiness, I noticed something interesting about the nature of my suffering.
As I reflect back on painful episodes in my life, I can recall losing people …
“Relationships are like glass. Sometimes it’s better to leave them broken than try to hurt yourself putting it back together.” ~Unknown
I’m sitting in the nail salon near my apartment, perusing Vogue and making small talk with the woman who is cradling my hand and filing my nails. We’re catching up on our lives; I tell her I’ve been in Phoenix for the month. She nods and, in broken English, inquires about him.
I’d like to say my subsequent tears are a rarity, but lately, they seem to have a mind of their own.
I sit across from my best …
“Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.” ~Cicero
At one point or another, we all question whether or not we are doing enough, making enough money, or if we are going to be “successful” enough. I know this firsthand, as I’ve spent long periods of my young adult life in a persistent state of fear and self-doubt.
When I graduated from college, I worked sixty, seventy, even eighty hours a week in a corporate setting climbing the proverbial ladder. In my mind, I thought that was success, even though it wasn’t what I truly wanted for myself.
I …
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” ~Mother Theresa
It was the second time I’d gone out to lunch with a new friend I met through this site.
We’d experienced some of the same things in life, and I instantly admired her attitude and perspective.
Sometimes when I meet up with people I’ve met through Tiny Buddha, I feel a sense of inner conflict. One the one hand, I want to live up to everything I imagine they expect of me.
I want to be positive, present, and upbeat—all qualities I aspire to embody in my …
“The journey is the reward.” ~Chinese Proverb
When you set goals, you naturally focus on the result. If you pay attention to the desired achievement, you will discover the path to get there. However, the value you gain from achieving the goal isn’t just about the reward of accomplishment.
Once you achieve a significant goal, you will not be the same person you were when you set out on the journey. The process of achieving your goal and the experience you have gained will have changed you. This is why the journey is the reward.
If you set the goal …
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore” ~André Gide
A few months ago, I received a gift from my brother while on a vacation in the United States. He was giving each one of us a small token of stone with words carved on them. Mine was etched “courage.”
The stone reminded me of my struggles on self-esteem—in the past and the present. I pull strength from my courage to face the challenges of each day.
Getting to where I am now was not an easy task.
“As long as you make an identity for yourself out of pain, you cannot be free of it.” ~Eckhart Tolle
I have a heart condition. Not one that you could see on an x-ray, or even one that you would find in a medical textbook.
For as long as I can remember, I have felt like my heart has had a gaping hole in it—and I’ve been stuffing anyone, anything into that space to try and feel a little less empty. A little less alone.
The first day of my freshman year, I met a girl.
We spent the rest …
“Be gentle first with yourself if you wish to be gentle with others.” ~Lama Yeshe
Several months ago, I sat in a large workshop audience being led by Kristin Neff, a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research.
She directed us to divide up into pairs for a self-compassion exercise. I turned to the young woman next to me. We introduced ourselves and returned our attention to Kristin.
Following her instructions, my partner closed her eyes while I sat looking at her. Kristin led those of us with open eyes through a loving-kindness meditation that was directed at our …
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” ~Deepak Chopra
We live in an eternally pregnant present, full of possibilities for a bright future. I believe it has always been that way throughout the history of the world. That’s just how the universe works. Unfortunately, we haven’t always experienced our lives the way the universe intended, especially right now.
Humanity seems to be forever in a time of chaos, marked by violence against one another, and most of us do not know how we got that way or when it will end.
I admit that sometimes I long for the good …
“Suffering is not caused by pain but by resisting pain.”~Unknown
Prior to my twenty-second birthday I was spiraling down a self-destructive path, partying at all hours of the morning and drinking excessively to numb my pain. I was a rebel with a cause, as the lure of the nightlife kept me away from my dysfunctional home.
I was searching for love and happiness in all of the wrong places, but the universe stopped me dead in my tracks, both literally and figuratively, when my brother committed suicide.
Devastated by the loss of his presence in my life and the close …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. Click here to read more.
