In January 2014, my son, David, 39, passed away following a 15-year addiction to heroin. We started out as an average suburban family: Father, mother, David, and Bill, an older brother. David’s father was a police officer, and I worked part-time as a secretary at the boys’ elementary school. Our lives centered on our community| The Phoenix Spirit
Month: December 2019| thephoenixspirit.com
“Being empty is a lot like knowing the words to a song but not knowing the music. Feeling full is just the opposite. You know both the words and the music to the song and are able to sing them aloud with your whole heart.” *** “I don’t know why I’m I so unhappy. I’m| The Phoenix Spirit
Are parents really in charge of their families today? Most parents would say, "Of course we are!" The more honest answer is, "Probably not." Popular media, peer culture and our very own beloved children themselves often run our families today. Don't get me wrong. We parents really do love our children. It's just that we| The Phoenix Spirit
Staying emotionally connected to your teen is essential both for you and for your adolescent. It may feel impossible at times but it is a crucial relationship task. A deep dark secret of adolescence is that being a teenager is often a lonely time, more than anyone cares to admit. The necessary loss of a| The Phoenix Spirit
We all know that Happily Ever After doesn’t always pan out. Tinderella and Prince Match.com don’t always ride off into the sunset, and well, that doesn’t mean it was a complete failure after all. Many times people come into our lives for a moment of time to help us grow and expand; then their duty| The Phoenix Spirit
The Phoenix · Having Healthy Boundaries: A Necessary Way to Love To know where you begin and I end is necessary for me to respect you, for me to be respected by you, and for me to respect myself. Without respect, there is no authentic love. Every time I visit my family I come| The Phoenix Spirit
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul? — Mark 8:36 If you're a parent, you've heard it all before. First it's the Mozart tapes you have to buy for your developing baby in the womb so your little Johnnie or Mary will be months| The Phoenix Spirit
John Driggs, LICSW, writes about the dangers of living through another person and not living your true self.| The Phoenix Spirit
I take the subway from Central Park West down to Brooklyn. I’m headed to a party that some old friends from college are having. These are my chique, New York friends who unintentionally make me feel like a country bumpkin. My winter coat didn’t look so boxy, and my boots didn’t seem that scuffed, until| The Phoenix Spirit
"Oh yes, I'm the great pretender, Pretending that I'm doing well, My need is such I pretend too much, I'm lonely but no one can tell..." —From Buck Ram's "The Great Pretender" These days too many of us lack an identity. We may say we are our own persons and claim to be independent. Yet| The Phoenix Spirit
Those of us in the field of addiction recovery understand all too well the concept of euphoric recall. We chase things outside ourselves to make us happy based on a thrilling memory of how they once did, albeit temporarily. Our pulse rate increases, we get arousing physical sensations and we can't stop thinking about the| The Phoenix Spirit
“For fast acting relief, try slowing down.” Lily Tomlin Our yoga instructor asks us to come to a standing position “one vertebra at a time.” I am not that well acquainted with my vertebrae. How many are there? Do I take them in sequence? What if they aren’t interested in going alone? Yoga familiarizes me with the inner workings of| The Phoenix Spirit
If you are like most Americans, you own some type of smartphone. It might be in your hand right now as you read this article. Take a glance at it and consider how it has changed your life. It has been a tool to capture memories, stay informed, and keep in touch with friends and| The Phoenix Spirit