Grief comes when the wind blows away something that you hold dear. You reach out, trying to grasp the beloved thing before it’s gone. You run after it, in denial, thinking you’ll manage to catch up — even though the wind blows it further and further away every second. And then it’s gone, and there’s a hole in your heart.Read More »
This week’s tip: Stop dwelling on the wind and the waves. Start focusing on your wings.Life got a little turbulent for me over the past couple of days. I came down with a little bug that had me flat on my back for most of yesterday. I felt exhausted. All I wanted to do was work on some writing or do something fun with Eric, but all I could manage to do was sleep, nap, and lie there.
I had considered staying home from work today, but I had a few meetings in the morning, so I figured I’d go in for my meetings, grab my computer, and then work from home in the afternoon. This morning I felt a little bit better, so heading to work didn’t actually seem so bad.
Life can be groundless, though. Read More »
“Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That’s its balance.” — Osho
Some days, life’s windstorms can knock us over.
It can be hard to keep our balance.
Other days, the waves of our emotions
whip us up, down, around…
We crave stillness. Read More »
Perfectionism can be difficult.
While on the healthy side, it can push us to excel, enhance our work ethic, and convey that we care, it can also easily tip over to the unhealthy side, causing us to feel “never good enough”, anxious, or ashamed. Being somewhat of a perfectionist myself, I can relate to the good and the bad aspects of the trait — so it is important to figure out a way to keep perfectionism in check and not let it get in the way of our happiness. Read More »
“If we don’t find some way to make friends with groundlessness and the ever-changing energy of life, then we’ll always be struggling to find stability in a shifting world”
— Pema Chödrön, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change
Life, like a fierce wind, can be unpredictable, and we must be open to whatever direction it blows us in. When we fight it, we only feel frustrated and unstable — instead, we must learn to embrace it and understand that sometimes, it will move us wherever it wants to. Pema Chödrön defines the “groundlessness of being human” a bit like my wind metaphor. She writes, “contacting the fundamental ambiguity of being human provides… the opportunity to experience the freedom of life without a story line.”
Waves, Wind, and Wings 