IMPORTANT UPDATE
As of April 2024, my blog has moved over to Substack where I’m co-hosting A Tender Space (together with my business partner at Centre for Holding Space). You can find my new writing plus podcast episodes there, or sign up below to get them in your inbox.
Here’s some of my earlier writing…
An open heart is not an unprotected heart
“But it hurts if I open it too much.” That’s what I hear, in some form or another, every time I teach my Openhearted Writing Circle or host openhearted sharing circles. People show up in those places hopeful and longing for openness, yet wounded and weary and unsure...
Only take responsibility for your own baggage
Last week, I bought a new journal. I am mostly a rush-in-buy-rush-out kind of shopper, but with journals it's different. I take journal shopping very seriously, because a journal isn’t just a blank book - it’s an intimate partner that will see me through a lot of joy...
Turning rage into compassion
(Trigger warning) When I was just a little older than my oldest daughter, a man climbed through my bedroom window and violently took what didn’t belong to him - my virginity. I fought back, but he was stronger than I was and he held my own scissors over my...
This is my white privilege (but the story is not about me)
This is my friend Rosanna. She is fierce and funny and a little bit wild. She is also really, really smart, and has amazing skills as a poet and radio broadcaster. She has a national radio program and I get giddy every time I hear her voice on the radio, because she's...
Sometimes we feel compelled to do hard things
In 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. As the founder of the Greenbelt Movement, she mobilized thousands of women to plant millions of trees across Kenya. Besides planting trees, she was instrumental in freeing...
Learning to be alone
"Last night, someone asked if I liked being alone. ‘It depends,’ I said. ‘Sometimes I’m my best friend. Sometimes I’m my worst enemy. We’ll see who shows up.’” That’s a quote from the beginning of this article by Parker Palmer, when he’s about to spend a week alone in...
How deep are you ready to go?
“How do I know if I’ve gone deep enough?” That was a question that came up during the Soulful Year virtual planning session on Saturday. It was asked in relation to an exercise that invites you to reflect on the grief, grace, gratitude and growth of the last...
How our sameness leaves us blind: a reflection on diversity and inclusion
In one of my favourite childhood photos, I’m sitting on the couch with a row of dolls lined up on my lap. Unfortunately, that photo was lost when my mom moved away from the farm after dad died, so it exists only in my memory now. The way my memory serves me, though,...
Open to the grace, the gift, and the grief
I am writing from the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. I've come here with my family of origin - my three siblings, their spouses, and all of our children. I'm currently sitting on the patio of the large house we rented, just feet away from the pool. I can hear the waves...
My journey to The Circle Way
I am delighted to share with you the launch of a new website that I have been part of building in 2015. The Circle Way now has its own home on the web. I first discovered The Circle Way fifteen years ago, when I was working as Director of Communication at a large...
Shawnigan Lake, B.C.
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