Five Mindfulness Lessons from Moving
When I moved into “Little House on the Big Island” in 2008, I was a chain-smoker who drank at least 2 litres of Diet Pepsi every day. I was on six different psychiatric medications. I could swallow a handful of pills dry (and often did, several times a day). I had...
Leaning into Fear and Uncertainty
Part I “Will you be around this afternoon?” My landlord texted me two weeks ago. “I’d like to come over and talk to you.” “Sure,” I responded. My mind began spinning. My landlord and I, who have become friends over the nine...
We Don’t Know Anything, Really
None of us really knows what we’re talking about. Not me, not you, not anybody else. I mean, we know some relative things about living on this planet, but in the big picture, the absolute? Nothing. We live in a culture where there’s a premium on having...
The Lifespan of an Emotion
In neuroscientist Jill Bolte-Taylor’s memoir, My Stroke of Insight, she notes that the physiological lifespan of an emotion in the body and brain is 90 seconds. The sensations—adrenalin, heat in the face, tightness in the throat, rapid heartbeat—arise, peak and...
Living the Mess is my passion project. If you’ve found value in this blog, please consider making a donation. Your donations will help me continue writing these posts.