life
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I learned to love my life again on a balmy Monday afternoon. The sun is warm in the sand, with waves crashing against the shore. An embrace of light that enfolds my pale body, lying prone on a beach blanket, sunglasses on, book in hand. Around me, movement. Laughter. Children chasing waves, elderly couples walking…
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I keep finding the bottom of myself and looking up for an outstretched hand. All I seem to find is a mirror. These are the things I learned this week that I wish I had known 20 years ago: Hyper-independence Is a Trauma Response I thought I was building a beautiful life, achieving the American…
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“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” – Robin Sharma The most interesting humans to me are the ones who have been devastated yet find the strength to recreate themselves out of the ashes of what came before. Who did not let their trauma define them or confine them. The…
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A man I was talking to on a dating app long ago said “You are always smiling. Is that a mask, or are you actually that happy all the time?” And I wanted to hang up on him. Because I was giving him my best and he wanted to see behind the mask. Because he…
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I have built my life around survival and fear. That’s the honest truth. A good life, a prosperous and successful life. A life other people would see and feel envy. The job, the title, the salary, the house, the vacations, the education, the friends, the family. Warm, authentic, and outwardly enviable. But I found myself…
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It’s been three years since I stood behind him as he tied that gray ribbon around a fragile branch of the hope tree. The anniversaries never get easier. “Don’t come back.” He said before the surgery. “Finish your vacation.” We left the Happiest Place on Earth a day early and drove home to Phoenix to…
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There’s this weird feeling, being so far down the road of life that I feel like I should have figured this out already while also finding myself finally knowing what I want. What a blessing to be standing in the doorway, the old me wishing me well as I walk away, and the woman I…
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In your 40’s. With baggage and kids. In a digital world where introductions are 200 words or less and a couple of pictures showing your best side in the best lighting. In a million introductions, conversations that feel empty and meaningless, like being on a never ending carousel of cocktail party introductions with people you…