Tag: mental-health
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The joy of creating…
I was teaching this past weekend at the Sanctuary on the Art of Rest. We were exploring day 6 out of seven, which is Creative Rest. It’s interesting how many of us don’t consider ourselves to be creative. When in all reality, all human beings have a creative streak in them. We may not be…
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Mind the hooks…
Recently, I was reminded of a teaching by the renowned Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron on the Buddhist concept of Shenpa. Shenpa is what she calls ‘the hooks’. These are the triggers in our lives that can send the mind into a spin. It’s almost as if they tap the ego on the shoulder and say,…
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Working the edge…
I want to talk about tolerating discomfort. And how oftentimes we perpetuate unhealthy loops, unhealthy patterns, unhealthy behaviours, all because we can’t, or should I say won’t, tolerate discomfort. And I think this is what our struggles boil down to. All of our knee jerk reactions are in place so that we move away from…
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The practice of joy
It’s that time of year again- the time to return to routines and resets. Somehow, September can bring a quality of fresh starts and an opportunity to shift our mind set, take stock and look ahead. My son and I are both starting back to university and having been touching in with one another as…
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Living within my psychological means…
Last week I was having a conversation with a friend in which we were detailing all the summertime comings and goings, including family visits, holiday adventures, and the day job. Summertime is a funny one- unless you are a school teacher, or are incredibly fortunate with your annual leave, working through the dog days of…
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Forest lessons…
As part of my working day, I have been taking my coffee breaks outside. And while I am currently at my cabin in Canada, this means that I have been sitting and watching the forest. Only, I am not the only one doing the watching. There is a wee squirrel who has been slowly moving…
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Are you listening?
One of the things that I love best about summer is sleeping with my windows open. When I am home in Ireland, I don’t always feel that I can do this, as I live in a town and in a single story house. I mean, who knows what marauders are out there at night? Things…
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The choices we make…
I am just back from the Festival of Writing and Ideas, which is a festival that brings together some of the leading minds, authors and artists of our time. Over three days, I soaked up conversations and inspiration, as well as the very wet landscape of Borris, County Carlow. My mind and my heart feel…
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The song of the land
Recently, I have been stopping quite a lot on my walks. It has nothing to do with my fitness levels, rather, it’s because the land has been singing to me. In Ireland, the month of May is a month of full bloom. The hawthorn, the cow parsley, the bluebells and even the wild roses have…
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Thank you, no thank you…
Two of my oldest Canadian friends have been with me for the past week and it has been absolutely delightful. We have traversed the Wicklow hills, roamed the halls of Kilkenny castle, explored Dublin’s fair city and ventured to the most sun soaked spot we could find: Inch beach in county Kerry. It has been…
