I suddenly thought that if I erected a brand-new beautiful Christmas tree, that I would somehow feel cozy and settled. Turns out, it did not work. It failed in much the same way when it came to Easter, Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. Holiday feelings and traditions missed the roll call this year and they appear to be absent. Am I the only person who feels the lights went out on the Christmas tree? The fireworks in July did not emit the same sparkle? The pool days of summer felt shallow? But you see, the holiday decorations and rituals are not what settle us, our attitudes do. Along with many others, I have complained about not being able to do the things I desire. Things that I took for granted. I have not had a date with my girlfriends in months. I have not spent time with many of my family members. I have not felt safe going on that weekend getaway with my husband. The things that I need to purchase from the grocery store are often unobtainable. The list of complaints

I have been thinking about the role of the media and the responsibilities that it has to the citizens of America. I have repeatedly, and for the past several years, been hearing the words "fake media" and "fake news". I want to preface this with the statement that I am not striking out towards politicians alone. These are phrases that I hear daily from a multitude of people. I am not sure, however, if we are truly being misled or that we simply are being made aware of things that we do not want to admit are real. We have trouble accepting things that we cannot visually see. While it is the job of the media to be a watchdog of sorts, the media is also free to choose stories that they wish to enlighten us with. With an entire legion of news outlets at our immediate disposal, it is ever so hard to find one that seems forthcoming with our concerns at the center of it. This is where confirmation bias rears its ugly head. We tend to lean towards a news outlet that is a ca

Waking up this morning was much like any other day. I made a coffee, turned on the dissatisfying news, looked over my to-do list, and checked my email. My inordinate to-do list controls my every move. It consists of research papers to be written, dinner plans, chore lists, grocery lists, gift checklists, and all things superficial. Absolutely nothing on my list requires me to obtain personal growth, inner peace, spirituality, or intentionality. There has been a multitude of things that have left a perpetual "bad taste" in my mouth as of late and I am left wondering why ridding myself of negativity hasn't shown itself on my grand list. Instead, we put our most important needs on the bottom of that sheet of paper. We don't create time to deal with ourselves and our emotional health. I have continued to be guilty of making excessive efforts to harness relationships that don't fulfill me. We are "friending" people on social media platforms that otherwise wou

  How to Unpack Your Suitcase I have had many traveling adventures in my life despite my fear of airplanes and trains. Most of my adventures have taken the shape of long rides in the car or the obligatory cruise to the Caribbean. I have consistently traveled with an obscene amount of luggage that the average person could live out of for six to seven months. I have been afflicted with this pitfall of never having enough and never being satiated for as long as I can remember. The amount of time, however, that it takes me to pack this said suitcase compares not to the number of years that it has taken me to unpack that rectangle of possessions, memories, souvenirs, and adventure. The snag, if you will, started when I was only eighteen. I thought that I knew exactly what I needed out of life, and more importantly, what I wanted. I jumped into a relationship with a magnificent young Italian man straight off the high school graduation floor. We rented our first apartment together, got ours

. I wonder what it would be like this year if nothing had happened…… Would we still be stuck in the same rut? Letting racism and white privilege rule our subconscious? Not spending any time with our family because we are so caught up in a rat race and consumed with stress that we aren’t able to breathe? That did not happen…not this year.   Our careers were abruptly interrupted. And this year we have faced some harsh realities. We have had to learn what it means to slow down. We have had to adapt in order to spend time with our families and just be still. We have isolated ourselves for the greater good. I have faced the fact that I am privileged. I was born into privilege not because I chose to be but because that is the path that was undeniably, unfairly paved for me.  If you find yourself without your beloved career, you are not alone. Millions of Americans are in this with you. If you are black and you feel left behind because you are seeing dozens of social

The Big Illusion Nothing that we do as a parent comes without the risk of scrutiny from others. It's happened to all of us. Parenting is the most guilt provoking job on the market and I am quite sure that none of us are doing it in a manner that could not be improved. There are many distinct and diverse ways in which to parent a child. Every single choice that we make and every act of punishment or praise that we dole out ends up with us questioning ourselves at every turn. Did we give enough praise for a job well done? Do we carve out enough time for them in our never-ending busy schedules? Do we know who they are spending their time with? Are they being too elusive? Too secretive? These questions cannot be answered because there are no experts to reach out to. The perfect parent is not walking among us. That person is an illusion. We are all so eager to think that we are doing it better. Doing it smarter. This is yet another deception. When my children were younger, I ofte