Trail of Myths: Finding Our Way to Enough

Jan 13, 2020 15 Comments
Trail of Myths: Finding Our Way to Enough

Inside: Questioning our unhelpful stories – the myths that present in the form of false notions or mistaken beliefs – helps us find our way to “enough”. This is a guest post from Heidi Barr. Here the forest floor has a carpet of hepatica, trillium, bloodroot, dutchman’s breeches, and bellwort, a tangle of white, purple, yellow and green as spring blooms open with the season. Adolescent skunk cabbage and uncurling ferns cast a tint of green as far as the eye can see, everything reaching toward the sun’s nourishment. Walking […]

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If I Could Bottle Up One Gift For You: On Self-Compassion

Jan 6, 2020 2 Comments
If I Could Bottle Up One Gift For You: On Self-Compassion

Inside: If I could bottle up just one gift for you this year, it would be that of learning to walk in self-compassion. Here’s why. If I could give you one gift this year, it would be that of self-compassion. Self-compassion is fundamental to living with purpose, health, and joy, and for sustainable and meaningful growth. Self-compassion is also a key tool in learning to quiet the noise of comparison, perfectionism, and fear. Let me tell you how. According to Kristin Neff, associate professor in the University of Texas at […]

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Walking Each Other Home: 19 Gifts of this Year as I Walked My Son Home

Dec 31, 2019 30 Comments
Walking Each Other Home: 19 Gifts of this Year as I Walked My Son Home

Walking each other home is a privilege. Here are 19 gifts I’ve picked up as I walked alongside my son through the final year of his life. TW: suicide, depression, grief On a cold wintry night, just over a year ago, my son and I sobbed and argued together as he finally admitted the truth about his plan to die. As his mama, I already knew. I knew him better than any other human on this planet. I feel like I knew him in ways he did not know himself […]

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Simplify Life – Imperfectly

Dec 21, 2019 Leave a Comment
Simplify Life – Imperfectly

Inside: There is no perfect way to simplify life or home so embrace your own beautifully unique journey and find freedom in the letting go. This is a guest post from Julianna Poplin of The Simplicity Habit. Six years ago, I started reading books about simplifying and decluttering. It came at a key time in life as I was beginning to pack up our family of four to move from California to Washington. As I began putting all of our things into boxes, I started questioning why there were so […]

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Holding Your Breath: When Your Child Dies

Nov 26, 2019 31 Comments
Holding Your Breath: When Your Child Dies

TW: suicide, depression, grief I’ve started an art scholarship in my son Jairus’ name: all proceeds from my Winter Mindfulness Journal go to the scholarship. xo I’m choosing to process some of my grief out loud. First, it is helping me when I feel like I’ll explode with rage or pain. Second, maybe it’ll help another parent feel less alone. This is a very personal journey. Please click away if reading about someone else’s loss – and particulary the topic of suicide – will be triggering for you right now. ******** […]

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Ordinary Magic

Nov 15, 2019 13 Comments
Ordinary Magic

Inside: I think magic comes in the ordinary – for those willing to see. Do you want more space or permission to pause and notice the ordinary magic of your life? The streets are black apart from the meager light cast by the streetlamps. But this is more than enough light to illuminate the sparkle of the snowflakes as they begin to fall. You sense magic in the air. You throw on a tuque and warm mitts, lace up fuzzy boots, and head out for an impromptu night-time stroll. You […]

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My Beautiful Son Has Ended His Life

Oct 28, 2019 127 Comments
My Beautiful Son Has Ended His Life

Trigger Warning: Suicide, depression My beautiful son has ended his life after a long, ferocious battle with severe depression and persistent suicidal ideation. He wanted to live. Wanting to live and knowing how are two different things. And mental illness, just like cancer, is not something we choose. It is not shameful or a reflection of character. And it is not the fullness of who we are. Jairus was a deep thinker and challenged me to consider and see differently. He was playful, loved to tease, and loved when I’d play […]

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On Holding Space for Ourselves

Sep 29, 2019 40 Comments
On Holding Space for Ourselves

I was in a bad car accident yesterday and by all accounts should not have walked away spirit and body bruised but whole and very much alive. It’s hard to type. Both wrists and arms hurt when I use them. But I process in writing so I think this is the kindest thing I can do for myself this morning. One person’s choice almost left my children parentless in the span of one heartbeat. Just one. That’s all it takes. But here I am. Very much awake. I feel. I […]

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