“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” ~Brené Brown When I was fourteen years old, I vividly remember the first time I put my fingers down my throat and made myself puke. I remember feeling fat, ugly, unworthy, and like I

“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca When I was twenty-four my best friend died suddenly in a car accident. She was like a sister to me, so this plunged me into a deep depression. I had struggled with depression since I was about fourteen, but it became much worse

“Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.” ~Ikkyu I was the kid who didn’t like to sleep. In nursery school, I would pretend to be asleep at nap time, while the other kids were sleeping. I’ve always thought life was full

“Sometimes it takes an overwhelming breakdown to have an unbelievable breakthrough.” ~Unknown I had hit rock bottom. Now that means different things to different people, so let me explain what my rock bottom meant. I’ll start with my physical health. I was underweight, about twenty-five pounds. My face looked gaunt and scrawny. I was hypertensive,

“It’s not a bad idea to occasionally spend a little time thinking about things you take for granted. Plain everyday things.” ~Evan Davis Let me go back in time. Not too long, but only six months ago when the virus outbreak hadn’t occurred yet. I was cursing the traffic, complaining the beer in a bar

“We all have everything we need within us to create our fullest potential.” ~Abraham Maslow Did you grow up with a critical, distant, or ignorant mother? She probably made sure that your physical needs were covered, but she never noticed or understood your emotional needs. If she was anything like my mum, she may even

This writing is in memory of my father, who—without knowing it—helped make me the man I am today. When I was a young boy, my father seemed bigger than life, like most fathers seem to young sons. I looked at him in the same way that I imagine my son Jeremiah looked at me at

This post contains a giveaway. If you’re reading this in your inbox, click here to enter on the site! Though life has become a lot less busy for many these days, I suspect a lot of us have incredibly busy minds given all the uncertainty we’re facing. It’s easy to get caught up in worst-case

“Be there. Be open. Be honest. Be kind. Be willing to listen, understand, accept, support, and forgive. This is what it means to love.” ~Lori Deschene They say your heart pounds when you’re in love. But the very idea of opening up and letting love in can bring on the wrong kind of palpitations. Saying

When I decided over two years ago to become a Buddhist Chaplain, I could’ve never dreamed that I would be experiencing our current pandemic crisis. I chose to become a Buddhist Chaplain after I lost my son in 2010. The experience of losing a child forever changed how I related to the world and how

All I have ever wanted is for somebody to put their hand on my shoulder and tell me “Everything is going to be alright.” I couldn’t tell anybody of my need—my yearning—for this simple act, or why it mattered so much to me. This was something I prayed for. This was something that could not

“It’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean.” ~Tony Robbins  Like millions of others, I lost my job in the wave of the coronavirus pandemic. I was teaching on a small island in the Caribbean. I discovered a purpose through my work, loved the

“Once we make our relationship choices in an adult way, a prospective partner who is unavailable, nonreciprocal, or not open to processing feelings and issues, becomes, by these very facts, unappealing. Once we love ourselves, people no longer look good to us unless they are good for us.” ~David Ricco One thing I particularly love

“Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.” ~Sonia Ricotti The scent of sanitizer once again pervades my home. And as much as I am grateful for it, every time I use it, that astringent, alcoholic smell takes me straight back to the out-patient chemo ward at the

Have you ever found it hard to motivate yourself to do something that was good for you, only to eventually do it, feel amazing, and wonder why you waited so long? That’s what meditating was like for me. Even though I knew I could do it for only five minutes each day to feel calmer,

“If there’s ever a tomorrow when we’re not together, there’s something you should remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.” ~A.A. Milne Two years ago, I was anticipating a monumental shift.

“Home is not a place, it’s a feeling.” ~Cecilia Ahern This post is written by three people from different parts of the world who came together to share their story of family estrangement and their choice not to reconcile. To the outside world, it seemed none of us were neglected. Our parents were well-educated. We

“Imagine if we obsessed about the things we loved about ourselves.” ~Unknown I used to have a plaque with this quote prominently displayed in my waiting room. Sadly, it’s somehow gotten misplaced over the years. What I remember most about the plaque was how it engaged, or disengaged, the people who noticed it. Did they

“Don’t trade your authenticity for approval.” ~Unknown As a nice person, I am often conflicted because sometimes I don’t enjoy being nice. Sometimes I act nice out of moral obligation or because I’m trying to be consistent with my perceived identity. Do you view yourself as “nice”? Do others describe you as “nice”? Do you

“A cat purring on your lap is more healing than any drug in the world, as the vibrations you are receiving are of pure love and contentment.” ~St. Francis of Assisi We all know what it is like to be sick. At some point in our lives we get the flu or a bad cold, but

“The quicker you are in attaching verbal or mental labels to things, people, or situations, the more shallow and lifeless your reality becomes, and the more deadened you become to reality.” ~Eckhart Tolle Things are hard right now, aren’t they? When I first started writing this article about my goal to drop labels so I

“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.” ~Kitty O’Meara While this pandemic

“A cat purring on your lap is more healing than any drug in the world, as the vibrations you are receiving are of pure love and contentment.” ~St. Francis of Assisi We all know what it is like to be sick. At some point in our lives we get the flu or a bad cold, but

“I became an overachiever to get approval from the world.” ~Madonna I have spent my entire life looking for more. More to do, more to achieve, and more to see. I have always been a planner—meticulously planning everything from vacations to visits with friends to my life months (or years) ahead. I plan because I’ve

“Life isn’t always fair. Some people are born into better environments. Some people have better genetics. Some are in the right place at the right time. If you’re trying to change your life, all of this is irrelevant. All that matters is that you accept where you are, figure out where you want to be,

“Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later.” ~Bob Goff Let me tell you something important. It’s a rule of life, a law of nature if you will. This law is not only a psychological truth, but it’s also biological, chemical, cultural, maybe even metaphysical

“And when I thought ‘I can’t go on,’ the universe expanded, mother earth hummed and the moon whispered, ‘Yes, you can’.” ~Wicked Words Heartbreak. The feeling that so many of us would pay big (BIG) money to skip through. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard (and heard myself say), “I just want

I know, this might sound pessimistic, but hear me out… “I hope that this whole COVID-19 thing goes away soon so we can resume our regular lives.”“I hope this quarantine will be over soon!”“I hope that things will go back to how they used to be soon.”You may be thinking or hoping these things. But recently

As I write this, I’m having one of those days. I feel so agitated it’s like there’s a tornado under my skin, yet so drained it took me five minutes to get my fingers to start typing words. I’m guessing I’m not alone in feeling a lot of intense emotions as of late, in a

“The difference between despair and hope is just a different way of telling stories from the same set of facts.” ~Alain de Botton When I was told that the man I loved had a terminal illness, I instinctively reached for my journal. When I was asked to evacuate my home ahead of a category-5 cyclone