Sometimes I say something that others don’t like. And they respond in negative ways. In the past, I would get defensive, call them names.

What if there’s a greater purpose to suffering? Understanding this can offer acceptance at a deeper level and offer some comfort.

My goal is to breathe through the hiccups; stay steady through the roadblocks; remain centered through the perceived disasters.

As soon as I stopped fighting with her disease, as soon as I stopped resisting, something drastically changed.

I want my mind to stop for a while and take a rest. Some days I can ignore and other days I am front row center listening to every thought.

I was more of a black and white thinker years ago maneuvering through the world judging good/bad, safe/unsafe, fun/not fun. I see hues now.

The first valley is about casting aside dogma and belief. What beliefs must I cast aside? Attar says, “Bread is always a need of the hungry"

I used to be a grudge holder. If someone hurt me, I would forever remember who they were and what they did. Then I learned something.

As I practice living every day, I surrender my pessimism and remember there's a learning in every experience no matter how difficult or good

No thought police will come to arrest me for believing what I want to believe. No one has a right to tell me what I know in my heart is true

what does it take to stay in an open and loving heart no matter what is happening around me?

I have been cultivating my true self for decades, peeling away the pain and confusion, the layers of thick crusty protection that helped me.

I know what sand feels like when I’m standing on the beach. I want to live in the beach scene. I don’t want to live in the circus.

I want to be in the Now. But I don’t want to again be in that “mush” state like when I was on anti-depressants. That is not the Now I want.

Food is a buffer and gives me perceived peace and conformity. I belong when I eat what others eat. I’m part of the web of life.

I’ve heard that there is nothing more important than being good. Even if I am an imperfect human being,

I trust authentic people, authentic circumstances. I feel safe when I witness humanness, not an air-brushed version.

I stand before my inner fire and bow my head in gratitude for the losses in my life.

I read in a book that coming out has to be better for the soul than living one's life in various shades of invisibility.

A puddle is one experience and a sinkhole is another. As I age, I recognize the difference. No matter whether it’s a puddle or a sinkhole...