When we as individuals choose our responses from prosocial behaviours, and promote those behaviours in ourselves and others, we are doing our part to keep the lever of basic care and kindness from reaching a tipping point and falling toward selfishness and apathy.

Walking around the bend in the path, I wasn’t happy about the humid heat enveloping me. I’d started my walk early that morning to avoid it. Now I was facing into the sun, its rays piercing my skin. As I grow older, my skin, especially my forearms, breaks out in itchy red bumps. It wasn’t even mid-summer yet, I mused, as my mind wandered back in time. 

Collage with modern interior images, abstract art, and winter scenes. Text: "montages" and “I dreamed that, as I wandered...” Mood is artistic.

So how does one pivot from a sucker punch to the gut and wrenching unfairness, to reclaim one’s power? In my life, I have faced a couple of extremely challenging situations, one of which was life-threatening, and these experiences have shaped my perspective.

Hope is not a cursory sigh of resignation. It’s an inspired intention, and as a writer, I can attest to that definition. My debut book is a memoir of mystical transformation. My dreams and visions, and this kind of hope, fueled this transformation.

This coming Father’s Day, it’s in those events of candour, laughter, or meaning that we share a part of ourselves with each other.

The need for safety was another powerful influence; to protect myself, I diminished my presence and buried parts of my identity out of sight. These two fears propelled me forward, but was there a deeper fear lurking beneath?

The heart probably doesn’t think the same way as the brain, but I believe we’re just beginning to fathom the power of our heart energies.

Realizing I hadn’t captured the depth of my changes so readers could “feel” along with me, not just read, I’m editing my book one more time replacing descriptions of how I feel with sensations and action. It's called “showing” not “telling”. It feels peculiar because I’m reliving the book as I edit and spending more time in those singular moments of awareness that preceded all the changes I made.

The act of being part of another’s pain–listening, acknowledging, and feeling it–is a powerful act. I’m not solving anything for that person; I stand in that painful space with them.

 Could it be that life's turning points relate to the direction we need to fulfill our life's purpose? The middle school teacher bolstered my confidence when I needed it the most.

A collective failure to right the ship may mean we birth a new, upright ship with the hope our failures will not be fatal so we can sail again. Visioning is hard. I can see billions of individuals becoming the best versions of themselves. Unforeseen events are inevitable if those with the power to change remain stagnant.

"Shame", says Brené, "will always be in our lives because the only people who don't experience shame are those who have lost the capacity for empathy or connection." (17:48 - 17:53) We're human. We all experience the painful belief that there's something about us that makes us unworthy of love and belonging.

Who knew my favorite parts of the day as a young child like daydreaming, lying on the grass, snack time, recess, nap time, and learning things were all elements needed to grow a healthy brain. Do children today get to daydream or lie on the grass? What kind of downtime do adults enjoy today? Hint: it doesn’t involve a glass of wine or going out to dinner. When was the last time we let our imagination take over our brain?

Interesting that all the boxes think they have the true way and the answer to all of human life's questions. They can't all be true.

For such a small bird, it had given me a profound personal insight. The flicker's message was timely and one I couldn't ignore.

The heart of presence is not an individual gift. It is shared by those who can sense that magical, mysterious energy and respond.

I’m curious about what makes us an adult and, beyond that, what roles our adult souls play in our evolution?

In that "ah-ha" instant, I embodied the virtue of compassion like I'd never felt compassion before. It pierced my heart and changed me.

Everyone experiences pain, but not everyone learns from it. Everyone has "ah-ha" moments but don't translate them into life-changing growth.