This week’s post is suspended between two stories. The first one is the old Greek myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a crafty and deceitful king who craved complete power. In his pursuit of power, he offended many men and gods and was eventually punished by being sent to the underworld and forced to roll a The problems with trying too hard| Harvesting Stones
I’ve known for a long time I don’t manage my empathy very satisfactorily. Several years ago, I found a couple of books by Rose Rosetree (here’s my first wince, because my own last name is Rose; too many roses!), Empowered by Empathy and Become the Most Important Person in the Room. (Here’s my second wince: Managing empathy and its connection to hurrying| Harvesting Stones
I've developed a practice of jotting down a list of events, conversations and observations at the end of every day, not only as a repository of creative prompts but also to identify patterns in my experience. During the last few weeks, perfectionism has appeared repeatedly in my daily lists, my own pursuit of it as Perfectionism; what it is and how to root it out| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentExploring the benefits of boredom| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentAsking hard questions about food and diet| Harvesting Stones
I read a quote from Instagram last weekend from wetheurban: Stop looking for happiness in the same place you lost it. Ever since I read it, I’ve been turning it over in my mind. To be happy is to feel or show pleasure or contentment, according to Oxford Online Dictionary. This simple little sentence from Exploring happiness with the help of Martin Seligman; how happy is happy?| Harvesting Stones
One of the most important distinctions I’ve ever learned is the difference between thoughts and feelings. Sadly, I didn’t learn it in public school or higher education. I didn’t learn it from my family. I didn’t learn it from my culture. I didn’t learn it, in fact, until I was 50 years old. What I Separating out thoughts from our feelings; recognizing they may not reflect present reality; taking responsibility for our feeling lives without blaming others| Harvesting Stones
One of my favorite things about life is that changing one subtle thread in the pattern of our behavior and identity can change the whole picture in unexpected but beautiful ways. The overculture promises such a transformation if we buy the right product, but that’s a hollow promise. If we really want change, we have Being over-responsible for others versus being under-responsible for ourselves; learning to switch our unhealthy patterns around responsibility| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentDealing with the terrible burden of shame| Harvesting Stones
When I underwent emotional intelligence training, my coach asked me the question, “Chocolate or vanilla?” over and over. Now, my partner and I use that phrase frequently as we live our life together. It always makes me smile. Life is ridiculously complicated. At other times, it’s ridiculously simple. Our experience lies in the heart of The power inherent in intentional choice; how often we abdicate that power and stay stuck and disempowered| Harvesting Stones