Register for Rising Strong™ being held in Winnipeg November 22-24, 2019
New Book: My Marriage is Almost Dead…
I heard a story about some acquaintances a few days ago…the couple had been married for several years. The wife was unhappy, but she hated confrontation. She didn’t want to say anything that would hurt her husband. She didn’t want to be the source that created long and difficult conversations. So she said nothing. The situation …
A letter to the woman triggered by #MeToo
Hello to the woman who is struggling with the #MeToo movement, A person pretty much has to live under a rock not to know about the #MeToo movement these days. So very many women are feeling, for the first time, they can speak out and have their sexual harassment and their sexual assault validated. It …
Self Compassion 101
Note: Time and date change to November 15, 6 pm-9 pm due to popular demand If you talked to a friend like you talked to yourself, would you have any friends left? Many days, if I spoke to my friends with the same words and tone I use inside my head, it would not …
Sorry…Not Sorry
I’m sorry. As Canadians we are notoriously known for being polite, with comedy sketches and internet pictures frequently mocking our excessive kindness and propensity towards apologies. We often read this as a favorable quality, this readiness to assume responsibility for a minor infraction or social inconvenience – but what does frequent apologizing really say about …
#8 The Third Side of the Coin: Top 10 Healthy Relationship Skills
There is a THIRD SIDE to every story just like there’s a third side to every coin.[1] The Canadian Quarter has a moose on the first flat side and the Queen on the second flat side. I would argue that living according to your values requires looking for the THIRD as much as possible. And …
Enoughness
I was woken up early this morning. 5:38am to be exact, which is an hour where I am often far from pleasant—but when it’s your 5 year old at the side of your bed asking if you could come to her room for a minute, you muster up some gusto and go. I know what …
The Hidden Destruction of Inverse Scorekeeping
I read Donald Miller’s Scary Close book late last fall…and it was one of the best books I’d read in a long time. It was funny and clever and engaging, and all about relationships, my favourite topic. Y’know it’s a good book, when months after it’s been read, it comes back to bite you in …
Rumblin’ and reckonin’
I heard a few stories from a few friends in the last few days (not from clients, btw–I don’t ever tell client stories on the blog): A woman in her early 30’s tells the story of her parents divorcing when she is her teens. Several months after the separation, her dad called the children together …
Big birds in small cages
Sigh…summer is such a beautiful time isn’t it? And with it comes altered schedules…Carolyn’s writing routine is off and she will be returning to regular writing on the blog soon. For now, another beautiful blog by therapist and writer, Sabrina Friesen… I’ve always been a word girl, finding solace in the words of others and …