Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Emotions”
“Oh, you’re my best friend…” The lyrics of that song by Queen have been running through my mind lately. Which is a much better choice than what usually cycles and recycles through my monkey mind at times. I heard the song a few days ago, and it caused me to ponder: what if we truly were a best friend to …
He has a brain tumor!!! My first thought as I examined the lump behind his left ear. “Did you bump into anything? Hit your head on a cabinet door? Is it tender?” I peppered him with questions, trying to identify a logical explanation for the bulge. My husband had been experiencing sharp intermittent pains in his left ear for a …
“Why is change so hard?!” This plaintive statement I’ve heard from clients (and muttered myself once or twice with added emphasis). Change is difficult because of two very important “laws” of nature. One from the world of physics and another from neuroscience. If you don’t remember Newton’s first law of motion, it’s okay. To paraphrase Newton, an object endeavors to …
Words fail me in so many ways. I can locate and place together a of string of words that clearly convey thoughts, feelings, and experiences, most of the time. There are other times in which I am unable to express myself. Language is but a system of aural sounds and written symbols. We use these sounds and symbols to bridge the …
While reflecting on an experience a few days ago, a vision of a trout thrashing on a shiny metal hook popped into my head. I imagined she had been swimming along peacefully, when she spied something that looked familiar and reacted by snapping at it. She was hooked! What caused me to imagine a hooked trout? I was that trout. I …
Do you have an emotional vocabulary? Do you use a wide range of words to describe how you are feeling or do you rely on “fine” and “okay?” In our environment of rapid change and clipped conversations (verbal and through technology), most of us rely upon the expedient answer of “fine” when queried by someone, especially in a non-intimate environment …
I’ve been reading about self-compassion lately, and wondering why it is so much easier to feel compassion for others and not ourselves. Why is it easier to forgive others for their missteps, but so hard to give ourselves grace? Those questions led me to ponder the nature of gratitude. Why is it difficult to recognize all the things in the …
No Matter Where You Go…. I used to have a screen saver that read: “No matter where you go…. there you are!” Buckaroo Bonsai. I heard a character in a movie (Buckaroo Bonzai, Across the 8th Dimension) say that line more than 30 years ago and it stuck with me. I don’t believe the screen writer for that movie originated …
This week I’ve been struggling with doubt. Self-doubt. I was sitting in a meeting a few days ago and I wondered, “am I really contributing here?” “Am I the right person with the right skills to help? There is so much this organization needs and I feel so inadequate to help it move forward. Am I the right person? …
“Stop taking your life so personally!” I read that sentence and felt a strong current run across my scalp, as it I had just stuck my head under a waterfall in Alaska. I noticed my heart began to beat just a little faster and my breathing changed. At first, I thought I’d had too much tea that morning. Then I realized …
