What I’ve been thinking about lately
Leadership for times like these
“I don’t think of myself as a leader.” I hear that statement often from my clients and I understand it - I used to say the same thing myself. It wasn’t until a special mentor/boss took me aside and told me that she saw leadership ability in me and then offered me my...
read moreI’m going to Uganda! Will you help me raise money for a toilet?
I'm going to Uganda! In a surprising twist, while I was planning my trip to the Netherlands to teach in November, a window of opportunity opened up and I can't pass it up. As you may recall, for several years, I've been supporting a school in Uganda that was founded...
read moreConfessions of an “over-functioner”: Reflections on why we feel inclined to fix other people’s problems
“Hello, my name is Heather and I am a recovering ‘over-functioner’. It’s been thirty days since I last indulged in my compulsion to fix a problem that’s not mine to fix.” I first heard the term “over-functioning” three...
read moreHow to process criticism, attacks, and negative information about yourself without getting knocked flat
There’s a familiar pattern that shows up when someone criticizes or attacks me. First, I feel it in my body - my throat closes, my muscles tense and the pit of my stomach starts to churn. Usually it’s accompanied with the heat of shame creeping up my...
read moreWhat gets in the way of joy? Some thoughts on fear, guilt, and “fleshly desires”
Friday, after a full day of work and a couple of juicy conversations with faraway friends, I headed to my hammock, tucked under two giant maple trees in my newly landscaped backyard. The late afternoon sun peeked through pinholes between the canopy of leaves, bouncing...
read moreConscientious Disruptor: What it means to grow up Mennonite
When I was a young teenager, our family arrived at our tiny rural church for a special evening service to find a sign on the door. “It is illegal to gather here,” was the essence of the message. “Those who worship here will be tried for heresy and...
read moreWhat I learned about leadership and holding space from a floating unicorn
I was sitting at the beach with my journal recently, while on a private writing retreat with a friend. It was a perfect summer morning, with the kind of blue sky painted with white clouds that makes the world seem a little easier to navigate. I was alone on the beach...
read moreWhat’s the poetry your heart wants to sing? And how might it liberate us?
György Faludy decided, at age nine, to become a poet because he was afraid of dying. Lying in bed at night, in terror of not waking up in the morning, he resolved to create a world with words where he could feel safe, a world of his creation that would live on after...
read moreWhen you hold space for someone with mental illness
(Trigger warning: suicide) The first time it happened, I was five months pregnant with our first baby. It started with panic attacks. My then-husband was starting a new job with greater responsibility and, coupled with the expectancy of fatherhood, he was feeling...
read moreThe conditions for deep and meaningful friendship
I remember the day clearly. I don’t remember the date, but it must have been a warm summer day, because I was wearing my favourite turquoise summer dress. I was walking home from church pushing a double stroller with a toddler and infant inside. I was glad that my...
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