Feeling Unsafe in the Midst of Our Struggles

Feeling Unsafe in the Midst of Our Struggles

I haven’t felt safe for a while now.

I’m not referring to my physical safety — I don’t fear for my personal safety in any way. I have a roof over my head, I feel perfectly safe in my home, in my small town, and going for a walk around the park in my neighborhood.

But unfortunately, my physical safety is where any safeness I feel ends.

An Unlikely Golf Groupie: Fangirling My Way Through A Year of Pandemic Anxiety

An Unlikely Golf Groupie: Fangirling My Way Through A Year of Pandemic Anxiety

As many stories do, this one starts with a cute guy.

But this story isn’t actually about the cute guy. It’s about the sport he is passionate about and introduced me to.

The sport that did what little else could — it calmed the overwhelming anxiety I started experiencing about six months into the pandemic. Anxiety that I have never experienced before in my life and that has kept me isolated and — as I like to joke — almost feral.

Golf soothed that anxiety…and my soul.

I Look Forward to Finally Meeting You, Love

I Look Forward to Finally Meeting You, Love

Sunday mornings are for coffee and daydreams.
The kind that have me wondering about slow love.
Knowing glances over our steaming mugs,
Me baking scones for you, and you feeding me a bite of your bacon…

I wonder what you will look like,
Although that’s never mattered much to me.
I care so much more about what your soul feels like,
And how connected we are…beyond the day-to-day activities.

A Wistful Sunday, A Restless Soul

A Wistful Sunday, A Restless Soul

I awake feeling something I cannot name,
Something that feels unusual in my soul.
Until it comes to me softly,
And whispers its name to my heart…Wistful.

A long, quiet Sunday stretches out before me,
An empty day that is mine to create.
And while there is peace in my home,
There is none in my heart.

Sometimes When You Are Quiet, It Feels Loud To Me

Sometimes When You Are Quiet, It Feels Loud To Me

“Sometimes when you are quiet, it feels loud to me,” my friend messaged.

That comment from a week or two ago has stuck with me.

Even though I still haven’t responded to the message.

Even in my ongoing silence.

A silence not meant to keep others out, but to protect what is left within.

To guard the little that remains.

Keeping myself safe because it no longer feels safe anywhere.

Turning Our Scar Tissue & Bruises Into Renewed Faith

Turning Our Scar Tissue & Bruises Into Renewed Faith

The scar tissue around my heart is thick and scaly,

Like a scab itching to be picked at.

But I know that if I keep scratching it,

Lifting up the corners,

Gently,

Warily,

To see if it’s healed yet,

I might cause it to start bleeding again.

The Magic of Musicals, Triggers, & Dreams That Don’t Look Like We Thought They Would

The Magic of Musicals, Triggers, & Dreams That Don’t Look Like We Thought They Would

Triggers are a funny thing.

They can affect you in a good way that leads to growth. And they can also affect you in a way that rips your heart out. And hopefully also leads to growth.

Tonight, my trigger was a musical.

An Almost-Feral Chick’s Plan for Reintegrating into Society, Post-Pandemic

An Almost-Feral Chick’s Plan for Reintegrating into Society, Post-Pandemic

A friend of mine admitted to me recently that he had judged me when I told him I was having anxiety about reintegrating back into society after the pandemic.

For saying that I felt almost feral and perhaps even a little agoraphobic — and not at all sure how I was going to prepare myself for leaving my house on a regular basis again.

We Can Witness Each Other’s Pain — But The Rest, Love, Is Up To You

We Can Witness Each Other’s Pain — But The Rest, Love, Is Up To You

There comes a point in life when the loss can seem just too unbearable.

A teenager who loses their group of best friends to the social wars of high school, a dear friend to suicide, and perhaps a bit of themselves while navigating the world at large…and then a fucking pandemic on top of it all.

You Made Me Believe­­­ — & Now I’m Scared I Can’t Do It Again

You Made Me Believe­­­ — & Now I’m Scared I Can’t Do It Again

You made me believe.

You made me believe. In a lifelong love that could not be broken. Would not be broken. No matter what.

You made me believe. In love lost and love revisited. That the one that got away sometimes comes back. And thought that I was the one that got away.

I was Accused of ‘Publicly Flaming’ a Mindful Publication — Here’s What Actually Happened

I was Accused of ‘Publicly Flaming’ a Mindful Publication — Here’s What Actually Happened

A few days ago, on my personal Facebook page, I called out a publication I have loved for years for publishing an article with what I thought was an offensive and condescending title.

The ensuing drama of the past few days has been exhausting and overwhelming, to say the very least.

How to Keep Loving Ourselves when We’ve Hurt Someone’s Heart.

How to Keep Loving Ourselves when We’ve Hurt Someone’s Heart.

Maitri. Loving-kindness.

It’s a practice that I have been learning more about and embracing over the past few weeks. And it’s something I’m turning to now, to help me accept something I am absolutely not loving about myself.