“One – you are not alone.
Two – learning to live with pain that will not easily abate or go away is possible.
Tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have discovered that living with pain is a process. A minuet of sorts, maybe not to the tune you would have chosen if you were entirely [...]
In an email that I received the other day, a reader asked me if I ever feel like a burden to those people who are around me. When I stopped to ask myself this question, my answer was an immediate “no”. It’s sort of funny in a way, though, because the last few times that [...]
Today’s post discusses the sensitive yet important topics of depression and suicide. I have received suicide letters here in the past both as emails and blog comments (never published of course), and my hope is that by sharing my own personal story, I might be able to help others who are struggling with these [...]
A couple of days ago, I told my physical therapist that my condition had to get better the following day, because if it got any worse I didn’t know how I was going to be able to handle things. As soon as the words left my mouth, panic filled my mind. There was a real [...]
Earlier today, I started my day by reading the following words on the Facebook page for Toni Bernhard’s book “How To Be Sick”:
I awoke to an email from a woman who finds comfort in the same words I do from Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck in Chapter 3 of the book: “Our [...]
During the many years in which I have lived with rheumatoid arthritis, I have learned firsthand the importance of controlling the thoughts that often bounce around my head. Quite often, especially during my worst moments, telling myself that things will get better makes me feel…well, better. And telling myself that things will get worse will [...]
“I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path.” -Dalai Lama
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about expectations. Having done some reading over the past couple of years on the topic of Buddhism, I am familiar with the concepts of right view and wrong view. Right view is [...]
“I came upon a doctor who appeared in quite poor health. I said, ‘There’s nothing that I can do for you that you can’t do for yourself.’ He said, ‘Oh yes you can. Just hold my hand. I think that that would help.’ So I sat with him a while then [...]
