“I believe God is a fan of people connecting and I think the enemy of God is a fan of people breaking off into paranoid tribes. And I think all the clanging pots and pans in the kitchen to scare people from the territory we feel compelled to defend is playing into the hands of dark forces. I think a lot of the shame-based religious and political methodology has more to do with keeping people […]
What if, in our relationships with others, instead of being driven by a need to be ‘authentic’ we instead tuned our senses to moments of vulnerability? Sometimes I wonder if we are more concerned about striving to be authentic in the presence of others than we are about allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in the presence of others. And I wonder if we forget there is a difference between the two – that they aren’t […]
“If I get to be me, I belong. If I have to be like you, I fit in.” – Brené Brown It’s pretty easy to absorb as true whatever are the social norms we are surrounded by. But when we do that thoughtlessly, we run the risk of discarding any experience or knowledge we feel and/or hold that lands outside of said social norms. What we want, though, in the communities of which we are […]
“Stop scouring people’s faces for evidence that you’re not enough.You will always find it (the evidence)because you’ve made that your goal.” -Brené Brown And to build on this, I would further mention the sort of evidence you use to qualify the degree to which you belong any such place could also be the same information that has you isolated from a sense of belonging anywhere. Over the time I have spent as a counsellor, and […]
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.” Matt 5:5 MSG I was thinking about how readily we absorb as our own whatever are the social norms that we are surrounded by, and how if we don’t do that mindfully, we run the risk of completely discounting any experience we feel that lands outside. Why does […]
“What if you’re the rough around the diamonds. Or you’re the awkward swan amongst the ducks. Or you’re a straw tucked in a stack of needles. Or a three-leaf clover filled with all the luck. What if you don’t know the role you’re playing. And your story isn’t in the tales you’ve heard. Well it means your character is still unwritten. And it’s up to you to fill the page with words.” – Dallas Clayton Just dove into a weeks worth of […]
With the rise of the internet and social media – we have access to so much information, all of the time, and not only do we have access to it, it’s practically always in front of our nose – without our asking. I sometimes wonder if whatever we have come to know of the various ‘hot topics’ through these mediums, not only influence us, but, at times, override the valuable insight that the nature of our […]
“I am willing to sound dumb. I am willing to be wrong. I am willing to be passionate about something that isn’t perceived as cool. I am willing to express a theory. I am willing to admit I’m afraid. I’m willing to contradict something I’ve said before. I’m willing to have a knee-jerk reaction, even a wrong one. I’m willing to apologize. I’m perfectly willing to be perfectly human.” – Donald Miller (Scary Close). As […]
Don’t stop speaking. Unless you are finished. If your speech falters and fumbles and there then comes this fear-shadow that insists you should now be quiet, What of the words, of the wisdom, of the light – Still left hidden behind this only-momentary falter? If you know that you know you had more to say, that there’s more to be heard here, pause. You’re human. Take a breath, Try again, please don’t stop. You aren’t […]
“Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” – C. S. Lewis I think there’s this quest as we grow, to also un-grow. Life’s disappointments and discouragements, if we are not careful, shape and colour what we are able to see now. As we grow, the discouragement list grows to a silly amount and I think for some of us (🙋🏼♀️) it can become easy to lose sight of the wonder […]
anne-marie elizabeth 