Letting Go...To Grasp What Really Matters
I can disappoint someone and still have a clear conscience. That feels like a miracle to say out loud. For most of my life, I believed someone else’s disappointment was mine to carry. If someone was unhappy with me, I carried it. If I didn’t measure up to someone’s expectations, that was mine to hold. If someone said, “I’m disappointed…
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Recently I shared this essay with my Treehouse community, and I was deeply moved by how many people said, “This gave language to something I haven’t been able to explain.” If you’ve been feeling unlike yourself lately, I wanted to share it with you, too… One of the kindest things I ever did for myself was tell my daughter, “I…
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Five years ago, I found myself leaning on my child. I’d recently had foot surgery and was confined to a bulky walking boot. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, my then 14-year-old daughter and I boarded a plane to visit people who loved us unconditionally. With my foot confined to a bulky walking boot, I knew traveling wasn’t going to be easy….
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I walked out of the doctor’s office through the hospital corridor in a daze. While lost in thought over the painful examination, new treatment options, and the mention of another surgery, I walked right past the elevator. That’s when I found myself peering into an occupied hospital room. I could hear the television drifting from the doorway. Drew Carey was announcing…
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On the morning of my daughter’s high school graduation last spring, I received difficult news. Staring at the text message, I took a few deep breaths and weighed my options. Responding right then would’ve meant halting my morning preparations to craft a reply—one that undoubtedly would pull me away from the joy of the day and into an emotional spiral….
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“Come on in,” the gray-haired gentleman waved from the middle seat of aisle 10 on my flight headed home. I looked to the elderly woman seated next to him, hoping to get some clarity on the situation. “He has bad legs and can’t stand so good,” she quickly explained. “Would you be so kind to just slide by?” I took…
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