Dear Carolyn, I remember coming back to the office in the afternoon after I attended your funeral and told Melanie, “It was beautiful how he loved her. He spoke so well of her. He spoke to his sons about who she was in a remarkable way that taught us all a little about what makes …
Bystander to Hero
Years ago, during grad school, I was flying back to California to study after a visit home. I and the other passengers were sitting in the airplane while it was waiting on the tarmac. As we sat quietly waiting to taxi to the runway, soft wisps of smoke began to emerge from the ventilation system. …
FAQ’s about forgiveness
Seriously, you’re gonna write about forgiveness? You’re gonna make me feel bad for how I angry and upset I am. I already feel bad enough! How dare you! Yeah, I get that. Living in a state of enormous hurt and pain after someone has hurt you, often with anger and resentment, that’s bad enough. But …
Balance
(Sabrina Friesen wrote and sent this to me a few weeks ago in mid-December…back when it was warmer and much slushier…it is being published now with Carolyn finally finished her family gatherings! 🙂 Balance. It’s not a new word. We’ve all heard it. We apparently should all be striving for this in our lives in …
The Long Winter
Years ago, I was in the hospital on bed rest, with a high risk pregnancy that threatened to turn into a premature birth at any moment. I was to have as low an activity level as possible…which sounds like a dream come true for the mother of a toddler…but it got old pretty quick. I …
Slow deeply
I love Christmas Day. One of my favourite things of the whole year is to be outside in the quiet on Christmas Day. In the middle of a large city like Winnipeg, on Christmas Day there is a quiet hush. The stores are closed. No one is bustling to get anywhere…there may be some cars …
A small light in a big darkness
Today is my annual so-low-that-down-is-up day–I blog about it every year (here in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013). The day when we have the least amount of light, and the most amount of darkness. The day that launches a time when the days will only have more light than the day before. More light is coming…just …
Self-compassion–A lived experience
I’m still chuckling at myself for what happened before I learned self compassion. Sometimes, the most powerful lessons aren’t learned at the course, but in the course of life. I registered for the workshop hosted by the Compassion Project, Klinik, and the Manitoba Trauma Information and Education Resource Center that featured Dr. Kristin Neff that …
Nudging and being nudged
One of my favourite things that happens in therapy is this: A couple comes in for an initial session. There is tension between them. They are fighting. They have forgotten how to be friends…they have forgotten they are friends. They begin with the complaints…He works too hard. She complains too much. yada yada As the …
Redemptive Suffering
Sometimes a conference is just a conference. Sometimes, a conference pokes pretty deep. Today–well, I got poked. Deep. I attended the Storyline Conference this week, hosted by Donald Miller. He has written one of my favourite books, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years…something I wrote about several times almost 3 years ago when I …