

Stop Should'ing All Over Yourself
Should is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as being "used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expedienc


Lessons Learned Adventuring
The ability to travel is a privilege and it is not one that is afforded to everyone. I am continuously grateful for all of the opportunities I have had in my life to travel and learn, because I truly feel that to travel is to learn. As cliche as it may seem, I find that I learn more through travel than most other experiences. I learn about myself, I learn about others, I learn about different cultures, and I learn about the world. In July, I had the privilege of exploring and


If I am not Busy, Than Who am I?
I acknowledge and recognize that being busy is a badge of honor that I have worn with great pride and great cost throughout many aspects of my life. I know that a large portion of my identity is tied up in being busy and keeping busy. I am also painfully aware that being busy is not sustainable. It is not something I wish to continue to be proud of. It is also not something I wish to carry shame around. So how to I change my relationship with being busy? More so, how can I re


The Cost of Productivity
Busyness is a badge of honor for so many in our society-but at what cost? How can I re-frame my relationship with busyness to truly value my


Hello Exhaustion, My Old Friend
There have been a few moments in my life when I have realized that I have bit off more than I can chew. The moment when I realize that I have completely and utterly worn down my body and I NEED to rest. Usually by the time I am standing in these moments I am past the point of no return and I get knock you on your ass sick. I am talking, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to bed-sick. These moments tend to stand out vividly in my mind, surrounded by an air of my


Petal by Petal: Lessons from a Lotus
The story of the lotus is the story of being human. The story of growth and moving out of the mud to bloom. The lotus also has many lessons to share beyond the widely known lesson of no mud, not lotus. A lotus blooms one petal at time, slowly unfurling itself to become the larger flower and the larger bloom in all of its beauty. The bloom is also perched upon larger petals, or leaves, that keep it afloat above the waters from which it grew. A lotus is a complex living remind


No Mud No Lotus
The lotus is an aquatic perennial plant that lives in flooded fields or ponds and returns to bloom year after year. It is aquatic in the sense that it requires an environment of water to grow. It is a perennial in the sense that it regrows year after year and its seeds can create flowers and beauty, even after hibernation. But the lotus is so much more than an aquatic perennial plant. The lotus begins its life deep under water, in regions where the water is still on the surfa