December Detox: A Nurse’s Plan for Mindful Consumption and Creative Focus
Life happens a spectrum. On one end, there’s complete abstinence, avoidance, no partaking, sobriety. Zero. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s consumption. Healthy, …
Life happens a spectrum. On one end, there’s complete abstinence, avoidance, no partaking, sobriety. Zero. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s consumption. Healthy, …
Joval. “Joval, like my parents Joel and Valerie.”
There’s misunderstanding. And then there’s this. Contempt. Disdain. Bias. Discrimination. Hatred rolls off their lips as they insist on mispronouncing my name.
For people who play too small, you will always be too much. Too sensitive. Too smart. Too bold. Too courageous. Too much of everything they think they aren’t, but simply don’t know they are. And it’s not your problem to correct. It’s not your concern. Your only concern is God. And in him, you are. You’re only concern is you. Not selfishly, but lovingly. Love your neighbors as yourself. Patiently and kindly.
Just because they hurt you doesn’t mean you need to hurt yourself, too. Just because their love hurt doesn’t mean you need to hurt yourself in the name of love, too. That isn’t love. It’s “love”. It’s struggle love. Hurt love. Harmful love. It’s love from someone who didn’t learn how to truly love themselves, but it’s the love they know to give.
Surrender and generosity are play cousins, aren’t they? Surrender. The world whirls in my mouth like java chip ice cream melting on my tongue on a hot summer day. This word keeps coming up for me. Over and over and over. And I’m so grateful.
Before you can change, you gotta be willing. And before you get willing, you gotta desire a different outcome. And if you desire a different outcome and think you can continue to think the same thinks you’ve always thought, or behave how you’ve always behaved, or responded to emotions the same way you always have, the only person you’ll fooling is you. It dang sure ain’t me!