Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
This past holiday season was marked by many things. It was the first holiday shared in the home of our son and his family, the first holiday season in 27 years in the Pacific Northwest, and the first Christmas in decades celebrated in our own home. It was also a rare, but gorgeous, white Christmas in the Seattle area. And yet for all these firsts, … Continue reading Call Your Friends
Are you familiar with the sound of silence? The pain associated with mental anguish in all its forms often feels unspeakable. I’ve come to think of mental health and mental illness as two ends of a continuum on which we all find ourselves. Our place on the continuum may shift throughout the course of our lives, and hopefully, we can become better at nurturing … Continue reading A Sober Thought on Mental Health
It’s pretty easy to lose perspective these days. We seem to have little time for either deep thoughts or long conversations. Social media has shifted our attention from face-to-face to the screen, where we communicate through cryptic messages and emojis. So much of our own perspective is focused on personal prerogatives and individual development. It’s as if we’ve reached the conclusion that since we can’t … Continue reading Finding Perspective
Suffering. What’s the Point? I have been thinking lately about suffering and why we suffer. It’s not a new question. It’s one humans have wrestled with for eons. I’ve had fibromyalgia and painful knee and back injuries for 35 years, stemming from an auto accident. I feel pain every day. But it is minor in comparison to the emotional and physical pain some of my friends endure, such as the loss of … Continue reading Suffering (by Eileen)
What are seeds of faith? I suppose the answer is different for each person, but for me, more often than not they come as small revelations in times of deep crisis when I’m grappling with forces pulling in opposite directions. For me, faith is not so much an idea but an identity, not so much about believing but becoming. Maybe an My teachers have generally been … Continue reading Finding Faith