As I took my first steps into the winter freeze, my braced body surrendered into a sense of unexpected safety. I was warm! Out my window, heads were buried as they bustled by. NYC had a white dusting that looked like frost. A mixture of snow, salt and sand made every color fade into dusty […]
The magic of Christmas was found by cracking a rock open. No matter how it appeared on the surface, we were reminded of what has always lived beneath it—love. It’s been 3-years since my sister’s death. Three years of silence that abandoned relationships and fragmented the family. This Christmas, my nephew and I initiated a […]
After 3-years of silence, my Thanksgiving blessing was getting a phone call from my nephew. He has ghosted me since his mother’s death. We spoke for an hour about my sister’s (his mother’s) illness and passing, his father’s behaviour then and now, my aging mother’s (his grandmother’s) care-giving needs, and our individual reactions to all […]
Trauma is not the traumatic event. Trauma is the aftermath of self-sacrifice. It consists of beliefs, confusions and tension patterns that unfold after traumatic circumstances interrupt love’s natural earnest. Patterns that can take a lifetime to discern and dissolve. Healing from childhood paternal sexual abuse has asked me to repeatedly tell my story in an […]
Why can it feel like a heart-punch when someone doesn’t express gratitude, care or affection when you’ve demonstrated yours to them? In theory, it’s been said, the need to hear others express their love spikes, when our belief in being loved or lovable dips. Reassurance feels like the only way to soothe the body’s ache […]
As I relaxed into my Adirondack vacation, complete with a mountain view; cooking on campfires; hiking through wooded paths; canoeing through lily-pads; and, watching the sky drift by, I began to see better without my glasses. I started to notice that when I was physically “in-feel” with the natural world I would remove my progressive […]
Age is often the excuse for having less physical or athletic potential. But as we are witnessing in the Olympics, mindset overrides physical performance. And for the aging, emotional intelligence is your greatest asset to manage mindset. How often do you hear, from yourself or friends, “I used to be able to do that!” This […]
During my nine-months of foot pain due to a ruptured fascia, I yearned to be back in dance class. I feared that life as I knew it could be over. Now that the pain has decreased to being without a cane, I am grateful to just walk to the grocery store. But here’s the thing, […]
It was after 8-months of foot pain and 3-months on a cane, an MRI report showed that my foot condition was severe and chronic. Something the doctor said we’ll manage. But, it is not repairable. A few days of tears were followed by various problem solving ideas to possibly keep me in ballet classes, and […]
During the past two-months of nursing an injured foot, I was joined by a nursing pigeon with two hatchlings. They transformed my, all but, house arrest into a sacred retreat. I nested in my apartment convalescing, refraining from as many activities that created stress mentally or physically; while they were nestling, in a ceramic pot […]