Trail Guides
"Do not get lost in your pain. Know that one day your pain will become your cure." - Rumi
Category Archives: Reasons to Live
Born Again
Where do you go when you get out of prison? How do you start your life over almost from scratch? How relevant are those challenges to those we all face? After two years outside the prison walls, Marlon has some experiences that seem highly instructive and inspiring for all of us. Continue reading
Posted in creativity, happiness, Reasons to Live
Tagged Braille, courage, creativity, freedom, living fully, patience, persistence, prison
3 Comments
Don’t Ask Why
Most times, “why” doesn’t matter. There’s nothing we can do about what has already happened. Why did your company downsize your job? Why did I get multiple sclerosis? I can wonder, but what difference does it make? The point is deciding what to do now. Continue reading
Posted in happiness, healing, Reasons to Live
Tagged acceptance, climate change, emotions, happiness, living fully
3 Comments
It All Starts with You
All change, personal, social or political, starts with yourself. You can’t change anything without having it change you, too. Continue reading
Posted in Reasons to Live, Uncategorized
Tagged Buddhism, change, codependence, Eileen Lighthawk, healing, social change, wounded healers
4 Comments
You Are Loved
If you’re like most people, you have no idea how much you are loved. But you are, and I can prove it. Continue reading
Posted in healing, Reasons to Live, Uncategorized
Tagged agape, Gary Chapman, gifts, Lori Deschene, love, phileo, service, sex, touch
6 Comments
Life, Jazz, and Basketball
There are “I”s in team. The way is not to suppress yourself, but to become more fully yourself as your context and situation lead you. Like jazz and basketball, life requires you to be yourself and respond to others as well. Continue reading
Posted in creativity, Reasons to Live, Uncategorized
Tagged basketball, cooperation, creativity, independence, jazz, team
2 Comments
Come Home to Your Body
Why don’t we spend more time in our bodies? Life has lots of ways to separate us, to send us on long trips into worlds of thought, emotion, or pure distraction, trips from which we may never come bac.k Continue reading
Posted in healing, Reasons to Live
Tagged body, body awareness, breathing, grief, Health at Every Size, meditation, mindfulness, Sufism
6 Comments
Not Really Yours
Recognizing that we don’t own our feelings can be intensely liberating. Feelings come from somewhere. They are a reaction to something, but they are not our property. My usual reaction to the world’s problems is sadness or melancholy. The sadness is real, but it is not mine. Focusing on sadness is just a habit I’ve picked up. Nothing bad will happen to me or anyone else if I put it down for a while. Continue reading
Posted in healing, Reasons to Live, Self-Care Support
Tagged acceptance, death, Endowment effect, living fully, relationships, Sufism
6 Comments
Because It Can’t Last
“Do not confuse value with permanence.” – Irvin Yalom Charlie Jane Anders hosts the Writers with Drinks literary events every month at San Francisco’s Make Out Room. The dimly lit club drips with streamers, glitter, a jumble of art work … Continue reading
Posted in creativity, healing, Reasons to Live
Tagged Burning Man, Charlie Jane Anders, climate change, end of the world, haiku, happiness, mandala, wabi-sabi, Writers with Drinks
6 Comments
Everyone on Earth
Three things you might not know about the people you share this world with: 1. Everyone on Earth is here to entertain you. Enjoy the show. 2. Everyone on Earth is here to teach you something. Pay attention. 3. Everyone … Continue reading
Posted in healing, Reasons to Live
Tagged connection, death, evolution, other people, plants
2 Comments