I was in a conversation today where we were talking about never giving students consequences. Yesterday there was a meeting where I heard someone say they don’t want kids to feel disappointment, and the day before where someone else was talking about how we always want to protect kids from feeling uncomfortable and experiencing failure. These are common conversations in the world of education. They are common conversations with parents. I get it, we all want so much for our k

You look around the room, who is missing? The table is set, the holiday meal is being served. Who is missing at your table? You look and see a chair, one that was used in the past, empty of the loved one you miss, and a cold plate. The table and the people there offer a circle of solitude, and yet, the ache from the absent person is filling your stomach faster than the Christmas meal.  It is grief. The heart feels lost, the spleen broken, and the temples feel full with pressu

“I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” I was sitting across from my Reiki Practitioner and as she asked me to repeat those words, I could not do it. I stopped cold, tears filling my eyes, and put my head in my hands. “This one is hard for you,” she said. Honestly, I did not know how to say those words to myself. I could have tried to fake it and say I do love and accept myself, but that would have been a lie. A lie to myself and a lie to this person who I trust and

“To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.” — Marcus Aurelius Here’s a story about annoying people and perhaps some ways to deal with them. Don’t read into this too much. This story could have been from twenty years ago or maybe it’s from the present. Either way, you will get the point because annoying people are often similar in nature and their annoyance comes from a common place. He sat across from me as h