Last month I posted about our power and ability to say both yes and no to others. This morning I’m thinking about another level of yes and no; that is the yes and no we say to life. At this level, the term ‘consent’ is useful. Consent means to “give permission for something to happen,” Exploring an attitude of consent| Harvesting Stones
A reader commented on my last post, asking me what I thought about obedience. What a great question! According to Online Oxford Dictionary, obedience is “compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority.” Before we continue, let me make clear this is not a religious discussion. I know obedience is an Exploring obedience; is it a good thing we should all practice| Harvesting Stones
I've been thinking about loyalty recently. Loyalty is one of my bigger rabbit holes. I most often use the term when I'm beating myself up. A nasty little internal voice frequently hisses "Disloyal!" in my ear. This happens so constantly, in fact, that I'm bored. I've decided to unpack the concept of loyalty, spread it What does loyalty really mean? How does it look?| 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
On the heels of last week’s post about unplugging, I had a conversation with friends about social media and what, exactly, it means to be social. What is a healthy balance of social and solitary? How do we determine if our social lives are appropriate? Predictably, I want to start this exploration with definitions, all Exploring social media and the way we use it; questions about our needs for connection and what authentic connection is| Harvesting Stones
One of my first posts on this blog was about saying no . As I learned emotional intelligence and began applying it to my life, I started to understand how imprisoned I'd been by my inability to say no. In the interests of full disclosure, let me report saying no in the context of long-term Why it's so important to be free to say yes or no and the cost of retaining our power to do so| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentPart one of understanding boundaries| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentExploring the value and practice of letting go| Harvesting Stones
Challenging the limitations and distortions of personal stories| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentArguing with versus accepting what is| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentExploring the complexity of communication| 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
#post_contentUnderstanding and recognizing the power of needs| Harvesting Stones
This post has been simmering in the back of my mind for some while. I’ve taken my time approaching it because it seems to be something of a landmine for some people. In simplest terms, to be grateful is to be thankful. It’s easy to be thankful for the things we enjoy and that make The healing power of gratitude for the good, the bad, and the ugly| Harvesting Stones
In the last 24 hours I’ve had an Aha! moment representing one of the biggest breakthroughs of my life. I've always defined myself as a failure. This morning, before 7:00 a.m., I became a success. Just like that, in one blinding moment of epiphany. I lay there giggling to myself like an idiot. I’ve been When and why we fail on purpose in order to succeed, and the consequences of such a choice| Harvesting Stones
#post_contentExploring identity| 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