Making sure that you are well is good for your family and good for you. When we are well, we are able to handle challenges with intention and grace. When we are unwell, it becomes easier to say and do things that we later regret. I’m going to go over three categories of self-care–ways people manage their energy balance–and how to decide which activities work best to help us go through life with at least some grace. This post is an extension of an earlier one on compassion fatigue.
Continue reading “Escape, Recharge, Invest: The Three Types of Self-Care”How to Look Like You Care (Hint: It’s Not Your Body Language)
This is an excerpt from a draft for my upcoming book. I would love to receive your feedback – what made sense, what was confusing, what you would have liked me to expand on, and what was superfluous. Thank you as always for your support and inspiration.
Continue reading “How to Look Like You Care (Hint: It’s Not Your Body Language)”Suffering is a Bridge
“What is most personal and unique in each one of us is probably the very element which would, if it were shared or expressed, speak most deeply to others.“
Continue reading “Suffering is a Bridge”
Through Their Eyes
A few weeks ago, Lian (my 2.5 year-old son) and I were getting ready for his nap. Lian picked a favorite book for us to read together, a story about a boy who befriends a porcupine, and carried it off to bed. By the time I got there, he was already reading the story to himself. What happened next was a magical experience.
Continue reading “Through Their Eyes”Where We Learn to Hurt Ourselves (aka the Origin of Should)
When Pain Becomes Suffering (aka “Pain is Not the Problem”)
This post is part of a series about “should“: How “should” is often the source of our suffering, how we make ourselves feel worse by telling ourselves we should be feeling better, and how acceptance is the key to dismantling our internal “should”. Here is the short version: An unwanted event (let’s say, being cut off in traffic) doesn’t usually make us upset for very long. What makes us upset is our insistence that things should be different (“that person shouldn’t have cut me off!”). We often make ourselves feel even worse by having reactions to our reactions, which I call “stacking” (for example, feeling stupid about feeling angry about being cut off in traffic). We can escape this cycle of suffering by accepting reality (“I feel stupid about feeling angry about being cut off, and I really do feel angry right now, and that’s the reality”). Accepting reality is not the same thing as becoming passive or fatalistic. We can still strive for a better future while accepting the present reality.
Continue reading “When Pain Becomes Suffering (aka “Pain is Not the Problem”)”How to Stop Hurting Ourselves
On Our Last Episode…
Continue reading “How to Stop Hurting Ourselves”The One Word That Is Ruining Your Life
Most of us think we suffer because of things that happen to us. That isn’t true. We suffer because of how we talk to ourselves about things that happen to us. More specifically, we suffer because we insist that things should be different: People should be treating us differently. We should be acting differently. The world should be different.
Continue reading “The One Word That Is Ruining Your Life”How To Support Loved Ones Who Are Upset
When people you care about are upset or anxious, what is the best way for you to comfort and support them? The answer is a lot simpler than you might think, and a little more challenging than you might expect. First, let’s go over the things that will NOT help, and may result in an argument with the person you are trying to help:
Continue reading “How To Support Loved Ones Who Are Upset”Listening Is Applied Meditation
Sitting with my eyes closed and trying to focus on my breathing is an opportunity for me to practice acceptance, because I will become distracted. Whenever I realize I’ve become distracted, I bring my attention back to my breathing. I used to give myself a hard time whenever this would happen – I would judge myself pretty harshly for being unable to maintain my concentration on my breath. These days I realize that catching myself when I’ve become distracted is a success – to know that I’ve become distracted is to become aware of myself. I can’t know that I’m distracted while I’m distracted. So that very moment of realizing “Oh! I’m thinking about groceries again!” is the moment that I stopped thinking about groceries, and became aware of myself. And that is success. Not only did I become aware, but I was also able to accept reality without being harsh toward myself. Just noting that I was distracted, and bringing my attention back, that’s all. As I do this again and again, focusing on my breath and waking up to realize I’ve become distracted and bringing my awareness back to my breath without judging myself, I am practicing acceptance.
Continue reading “Listening Is Applied Meditation”