The Lost Pieces

A client’s comment reminded me of this recently.  They said their mother had died when they were between 3-4 years old and so they didn’t have that experience of having a mom in their lives.  They had a wicked-stepmonster (my word) who was a defining presence in their life, but not in a good way. …

Emotional Scapegoats

It’s very much true that we should actually listen to our emotions, hear what they have to say, and weigh that wisdom with the other voices going on inside us to find our soul’s path.  Sometimes that means doing what we feel like doing in the moment because that freedom allows us to unfold, sometimes…

Emotions Are the Hardest Part

There are two categories of emotions: the kinds we want and the kinds we don’t.  We treat them like pets.  If they behave exactly like we want and are cute and cuddly we reward and pamper them.  If they don’t behave we chastise them and work to correct them or we decide we want nothing…

The Soul & The Body

It’s funny to me how over centuries we’ve come to a conclusion culturally that there is wisdom in the soul and that the body is the mechanism by which the soul gets around, like a car or a scooter or something.  It treated like a tool or a mechanism or a machine which breaks down…

Original Grace

Journeys by Heart: A Christology of Erotic Power by Rita Nakashima Brock While feminists are not naïve about human evil and suffering, we understand sin as historically and socially produced, which requires us to take responsibility for understanding and stopping oppression and suffering. I believe understanding sin as damage enhances responsibility and healing instead of…

You Never Knew

Sometimes life can take you where you never knew you wanted to go.  That can be a fantastic thing where you meet someone who makes your heart sing, find an amazing sale, come across something you’ve heard about but never had a chance to try, find the perfect camping spot or just see something amazing. …

Once I Get There

There’s a well-known rule in corporate management: Be the ruler of your email lest you be ruled.  It’s death by a thousand cuts, the rabbit hole of email where things just keep going and going, the never-ending email thread…you get the picture.  If you work on email first you’ll never work on anything else for…

The Cheap Version

You can tell the difference between artisan and mass-produced.  We all can at this point.  Injected plastic vs hand molded, off the conveyor belt vs. just out of the oven, thrown together in sweat shop vs. just off the needles of the person selling it to you. It’s not just the price which can be…

That Little Irritation

People ask me what direction they should go or how they can figure out what they should be doing with their lives to fully live and be on their path.  Well, we’re headed into spring and one of the things I’ve found that is in harmony with this year of the goat is to pay…

It’s Been A Long Time Coming

Books, movies, TV all like the dramatic gesture and the emotional tension of long-term issues exploding.  It draws in the audience and makes them want to find out what happens next, but it also habituates us to see things in dramatic terms.  When something has been going on for a long time we should feel…