Reason and Reasonable Are Not the Same

Knowing the difference between reason and reasonable can smooth-over any path you choose. We live in a fear-based society. Everywhere you turn fear is used to prevent growth, create artificial limitations, stifle creativity, and disempower the masses while keeping a select few “in power.” If you don’t believe me, just look at the GOP here in the United States. The vast majority of their party line is how the “other” – be it liberal, immigrant, black person, woman, LGBTQ person,

Positivity Empowers Everyone

But beware of toxic positivity. I strive to be optimistic and positive. Because I am human – and I have good days and bad days – I don’t always get it right. There are days it’s hard to get out of bed and face what’s coming. They’re not frequent, but they happen. Further, things can and do occur during a given day where you might get thrown off your game. Just over seven years ago, I get onto Facebook on

Normalizing Mental Health Matters

Let’s get real – normalizing mental health matters is the elephant in every room. What the hell is normal, anyhow? The answer is far easier than we tend to make it. Normal is what’s right for you. Yet society has concocted numerous bizarre notions of what normal should be. For example – man and woman marry and produce children; you work a 9-5 job Monday-Friday; hobbies are gender-specific. Then, it often goes deeper and becomes a lot more insidious. Rather

You are Responsible for How You Feel

To some this is harsh. But being responsible for how you feel empowers you and doesn’t invalidate your feelings. Feelings are complicated. This is true for numerous reasons. Feelings are a matter of both how and what. How you feel and what you feel can have very different meanings, and even conflict. What are you feeling? This tends to be the name you put to the feeling you have. This can be challenging because there are lots of nuances in

Balancing Mindfulness Within and Without

Nobody lives in a vacuum. Balancing mindfulness within and without provides perspective on this. The last four years – at least here in the United States – have been tumultuous. One of the biggest takeaways from all that has transpired has been a new impression of people. We’ve seen some of the best of humanity – as well as some of the worst. There have been amazing examples of generosity, love, caring, kindness, and compassion. But then, there have also

This Too Shall Pass

Yes, this situation has been rough – but this too shall pass. Hard to believe that COVID-19 has been impacting our world for over a year. For most people, the impact was felt hardest when the nation shut down briefly in late March/early April of 2020. A shut down that was too brief to positively impact matters. Because of a lot of false narratives, focus on the economy over public health, and denial of the severity of the pandemic –

Why Do We Stumble on Our Paths?

You stumble because it’s more about the path than the end goal. Today is another day. It is full of potential, possibilities, and other great stuff. If that’s how you perceive your reality. For some, today is another day. But it’s full of fear, distress, uncertainty, woe, and other awful stuff. Both these perceptions are on the personal level. I’m not even going to go into the high-level happenings (such as the inauguration). YOU get to choose – every single

We Need Acceptance Over Tolerance

Tolerance is insufficient – but acceptance is empowering. When it comes to differences among people, the word tolerance gets thrown around a lot. Tolerance gets applied to tangible differences, like skin color, hair color, body type, sex, and so on. But frequently, it gets applied to intangible differences. This includes sexual orientation, gender, religion, nationality, politics, and the like. Tolerance, however, is insufficient. Why? Because it implies negativity. As in – “well, I don’t like that – but I’ll tolerate

My Way is Mine – Your Way is Yours – Is There Common Ground?

Just because my way is mine doesn’t mean we can’t find some common ground (within reason). We are closing in on having 8 billion people on this planet. Let me write that out – that’s 8,000,000,000 people. Let’s say you know, personally, 100 people total. Maybe not well, but for the sake of argument, it’s a good round number. That means that you know 0.00000000125 of the total number of people on this planet. That’s a SUPER small number of

Giving Empowers Positivity

There is huge positivity in giving tangible and intangible things – giving empowers via a two-way street. A lot of people think of giving in the material. Giving time, money, donations, and other energetic matter. But giving is just as powerful – if not, in some ways, more powerful – when it’s immaterial. You can give immaterial things. This includes smiles, compliments, helpful (solicited) suggestions and advice, and other things that cost you nothing. But the most powerful thing you

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