I can still smell it. The smell of wooden pews, old Bibles and stale coffee. It was the smell of my tiny childhood church. Pictures of a very white, blue eyed, brown haired Jesus hung in various places. Those pictures gave me such comfort. Especially one in which he is in a field surrounded by [...]
What if I’m ordinary? I watched a short video featuring Brene Brown recently. She explained that she believes, based on her data, that we live in a culture of scarcity. It looks something like this: *I’m not good enough *I’m not smart enough. *I’m not pretty enough. *I’m not certain enough. *I’m not extraordinary enough. [...]
Social media presents a problem. What we share is perceived either superficial or too negative. Too real. I've decided to be transparent with you, my followers ❤ Last week was exhausting, overwhelming and difficult. My husband and I crammed a ton of activity into a short period of time. We had fun but it left [...]
Man, I've heard it all. I'm too loud.🤐 I'm too much.🤯 I talk too much.🤬 I'm too sensitive.🥺 I'm clumsy.🤕 An outsider.👽 I didn't fit in. 🤪 My 7, 10, 13, 16 and 18 year old self heard these statements, committed them to some kind of concrete memory as truth. I was just a little [...]
I’m not sure if I should be quoting lyrics from Rod Stewart or daydreaming about an upcoming event. While I’m singing this song right now (you’re welcome), I have been doing some reflecting on anticipation. The dictionary defines anticipation as expectation or prediction. A very simple and straightforward definition. But it lacks something. What I’ve [...]
I know all the incessant questions. They go something like this: Do I have enough? I’m afraid I don’t. Will it run out? What if it does? Can I count on (it, you, that) to fulfill my needs? Will I get my share? Do I measure up? Do you like me? Am I mediocre? [...]
My mom used to say I looked at the world just a little differently. Everything was magical. *Because it was. I smiled at others, found delight in discarded pennies and extracted the maximum amount of fun out of every situation. As an adult, I can still find that little girl enthusiasm seeping out. I used [...]
Three weeks ago my mother underwent quadruple bypass surgery. It was unexpected. We were completely at a loss. There was really no other option. The Sunday prior, she was not feeling well and to be completely honest, had been struggling with shortness of breath upon exertion. All her symptoms were explained away by other plausible [...]
Can we teach each other how to learn to love our bodies? *Despite social conditioning? *Despite religious shaming? *Despite abuse? *Despite our own judgement? *Despite ongoing sexualization from a fearful society? When can we gaze upon ourselves as a work of art? As a vessel that was created to do good things. As [...]
I was once asked a very simple question from a mentor, “Ami, would you rather be an egg or a bouncy ball?” I was confused. What do those things have to do with me? Disappointment, overwhelm, anger, sadness, resentment are feelings that are anything but positive. Obviously we experience all of them as [...]
