Belly breathing—or diaphragmatic breathing—calms the nervous system. A fact I was reminded of in an educational video. So here I am, filling my lower abdomen with air, releasing it gently, and repeating. Because on nights like this, when writing feels de-prioritized, and the space for it seems nonexistent, that panicky voice creeps in. The oneContinue reading “Protecting Your Peace”
Tag Archives: boundaries
Mapping the Territory of Confidence and Doubt
Are you able to discern the difference between when you’re in an insecure or secure state of being? As I sat shoeless and cross-legged on the floor of my office with a client, who also sat barefooted and cross-legged on a nearby brown leather loveseat, the focus of our hour-long counseling session fell on thisContinue reading “Mapping the Territory of Confidence and Doubt”
Keep Your Hands To Yourself
The farty smell in the laundry room, which I solved last week but didn’t, is no more. In bending to clean behind the dryer, my bird-dog nose sniffed a scent that, if in cartoon land, my face would turn green, and I’d fall over with x’s in my eyes. We have two washer drains IContinue reading “Keep Your Hands To Yourself”
Sit Ubu, Sit
“Don’t fight the test” is a figure of speech I tell myself when I need to back off. Years ago, when studying for the National Mental Health Counseling Examination, I kept running into answers with which I disagreed. Whenever I encountered one, I’d jump out of my chair, storm into my supervisor’s office, and shareContinue reading “Sit Ubu, Sit”
Hush Hush
“At dinner, Sheila Rae made believe that the cherries in her fruit cocktail were the eyes of dead bears, and she ate five of them.” How do you feel about this line from the children’s book our dear friend Jeff read to our sweet two-year-old daughter this evening? Where once the story droned in theContinue reading “Hush Hush”
May Day! May Day!
How is it possible to feel like I’m drowning and want to escape life’s constant demands while at the same time picking myself up and plugging away instead? Is it the responsibility I feel towards other people? Do I know the feeling will likely be temporary? Or is it that by now, even if it’sContinue reading “May Day! May Day!”
Going On 40 