UNCERTAINTY IS MY FRIEND: Coming to grips with an ever-changing world
A month ago, after I departed from South Bend, Indiana on a 13-hour car ride filled with the sounds of cold brew slurped up through a straw, animated storytelling and my best friend’s curated playlist...
View ArticleTHERAPEUTIC ACCEPTANCE: A journey of healing, faith and self-discovery
Life often presents us with challenges that demand a profound level of acceptance—the kind that requires us to navigate through difficult situations, recover from past traumas and embrace the...
View ArticleSTOIC IN TRAINING: Let them
My social media channels were recently peppered with a “new” perspective on other people’s behaviour called the “Let Them Theory.” In short, if someone wants to behave in a way that you disapprove of,...
View ArticleSTOIC IN TRAINING: Emotions welcome, acceptance imperative
Many years ago, I interviewed a professor of Linguistics from a major university. At the time, I was annoyed that the word “unique,” meaning one-of-a-kind, was routinely showing up in print as a...
View ArticleSTOIC IN TRAINING: A life lived in reality with all its flaws
Someone, perhaps a therapist I sat with along the way, pointed out how often I used the word “should.” I think back to this moment as my first step on the path towards Stoicism. I was brought up in a...
View ArticleWHO AM I, REALLY?: We need to embrace the loving essence inside each of us
Our meditation practice is personal and private. It is also something that can open us up to connect with every other human being on the planet. There are many opportunities to learn about the ways and...
View ArticlePOEMS BY MIKE LARCOMBE: Now Is the Moment Is Now and more
A New Year’s Resolution of “Shoulds” and “Shouldn’ts” I live with my “should”I ought to be slim and healthyFlexible and fitAnd not this fat, lazy git. I should be a big success at workMoney in the...
View ArticleA NEW HOUSE FOR HUMANITY: Building a house that honours each soul’s dignity
What if we are being called to build a house for our brothers and sisters, just as Joseph may have built a house for Mary during Jesus’ final days on Earth, a house he may have built to provide a place...
View ArticleONE FAMILY: Within each one of us, resides everything that resides in all of us
Thich Nhat Hanh, the noted Buddhist monk and writer, has written a collection of poems entitled Call Me By My True Names. He and his poems assert that within each one of us, resides everything that...
View ArticleTRANSCEND YOUR FEAR: Embrace the inevitability of your own death
One day, sooner or later, we are all going to die. Like every human being, as the inevitability of our own death dawns, we will be presented with two paths to follow. We can choose the first and...
View ArticleMS. TAVARES SMILED AT ME TODAY: How a smile can change lives
Ms. Tavares smiled at me today. As I was walking past her after picking up my kids from their class, I caught a glimpse of her talking to other parents. She noticed us passing by, looked up, and smiled...
View ArticleWE ARE NOT OUR BODIES: Loving yourself when you don’t like yourself
Dealing with depression from a young age has left me with a lot of baggage to unpack and a lot of knots inside my head to unwind. The thing that pops up, time and time again, is me not liking myself....
View ArticleFORGIVE THE BULLIED: Accepting my past and finding my inner voice again
I scroll through an old high school classmate’s Instagram feed and feel slightly jealous. Jealous because I’ve never had the courage to be more open like she is, to grab life by the horns and just live...
View ArticleTHE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE : A shared identity in a polarizing world
Last updated on May 31st, 2019 at 12:06 pm“Where are you from?” In a simple world, I would answer that I’m from Canada. If I gave that answer, I would look like a fool, though, because I know what the...
View ArticleA SENSE OF COMMUNITY: A night at the 7-Eleven
The online reviews for this motel and the part of the city it’s in are downright scary. But it’s the only low-priced room available in all of Phoenix, Arizona tonight. We get the key card for our room....
View ArticleBEYOND THE SPECTACLE OF VETERANS DAY: Reflecting on the losses at home
Veterans Day is not just a day to have fun and show off my rare vintage headgear given to me by Catholic War Veterans of America. It’s a day on which to reflect! On what? Well, not so much about losses...
View ArticleWE ARE NOT OUR BODIES: Loving yourself when you don’t like yourself
Dealing with depression from a young age has left me with a lot of baggage to unpack and a lot of knots inside my head to unwind. The thing that pops up, time and time again, is me not liking myself....
View ArticleFORGIVE THE BULLIED: Accepting my past and finding my inner voice again
I scroll through an old high school classmate’s Instagram feed and feel slightly jealous. Jealous because I’ve never had the courage to be more open like she is, to grab life by the horns and just live...
View ArticleTHE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE : A shared identity in a polarizing world
“Where are you from?” In a simple world, I would answer that I’m from Canada. If I gave that answer, I would look like a fool, though, because I know what the other person is really asking. They are...
View ArticleA SENSE OF COMMUNITY: A night at the 7-Eleven
The online reviews for this motel and the part of the city it’s in are downright scary. But it’s the only low-priced room available in all of Phoenix, Arizona tonight. We get the key card for our room....
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