by thetendingyear | Jul 1, 2022 | Chronic Pain, Habit formation, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Slow Living, Time Management
This blog post originally was shared with my mailing list for The Tending Letter. You can subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the post. I had the honor of interviewing Rachael Stephen recently about her Constellation System, a method that has certainly changed...
by thetendingyear | Nov 11, 2019 | Chronic Pain, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Spirituality
I’ve never liked the phrase “everything happens for a reason,” but it wasn’t until recently that I had a name for what felt so icky to me: spiritual bypassing. Psychotherapist John Welword defined spiritual bypassing in his book Toward a Psychology of Awakening as the...
by thetendingyear | Aug 6, 2019 | Chronic Pain, Coaching, Personal Development, Productivity, Slow Living, Values
I decided my future career when I was sixteen years old: tenured English professor. I’d been writing poetry and painting for about a year, and I determined that I needed to choose one and commit myself to getting really good at it. I chose poetry, and followed that...
by thetendingyear | Jul 30, 2019 | Chronic Pain, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Values
I recently posted a picture of myself on Instagram with the following caption: Three truths: 1️) Today I got to go on a lovely walk and talk in the woods with a friend. 2️) I am loving my new short haircut and feel cute and fun in my body. 3️) I am navigating a new...
by thetendingyear | Jul 23, 2019 | Chronic Pain, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Development
If you or someone in your circles have lived with chronic pain or illness, you may have heard about the Spoon Theory. It’s a phrase I’ve used throughout The Tending Year posts and newsletters in reference to my chronic pain, but recently I’ve started a new treatment...
by thetendingyear | Jul 2, 2019 | Addiction & Recovery, Chronic Pain, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Values
I consider acceptance to be the first step in the process of engaging with the truth of our experiences. Sometimes coming to acceptance is a struggle, but—for me— the struggle is satisfying because it shows me that I am growing. I only recently (this year) started...
