When I dug through my early blog posts to put this post together, I was surprised to discover the messages that are the still foundation for my personal and professional life.
Messages like:
- You decide what it means to live a good life.
- You’re never separated from your true nature of peace and love.
- There’s so much beauty in this life.
- You have the power to write your own story and you don’t need as much control over that story as you think.
Want to see?
Here’s a collection of my favorite essays that hit on these core messages and a few fun facts about the behind-the-scenes journey.
Releasing Pressure and Expectations to Make Room for Life on Tiny Buddha. This was my first blog post published anywhere. I’d never considered blogging before writing this, but after attending a virtual mindfulness and meditation conference, I felt called to write something. I sent this off with no intention of doing anything more. And the feeling stayed. Just for fun, I brainstormed domain names and checked to see if openlybeing.com was available. It was, I bought it, and the rest is history 😊.
How to Really Live in the Moment and Appreciate Life on Tiny Buddha. I was on a walk with my daughter about 3 years ago and amazed at how differently she could see the world. Being in her presence right then, I saw the world in a new light. I still think about this walk and the deep meaning it holds for me, and every time I share it in my workshops on campus, I’m amazed at the personal meaning others find in this story.
The Surprising Way to Have it All on Positively Positive. I wrote this during my mom blog phase (check out the bio!). The mom blog didn’t stick, but it was right after publishing this piece that Positively Positive asked me to be a regular contributor. You just never know where your baby steps and wrong turns will take you.
How to Trust That You’ll be Okay No Matter What on Tiny Buddha. For a long time, I felt shame whenever I looked at this article. It received painful criticism, and that was all I could focus on. When I reached out to Lori, the editor at Tiny Buddha, about how she’d like me to respond, she mentioned that it was the most shared piece she’d had. Still, I could only see the negative comments. I know a lot of us have been there, and I also know that healing comes when we stop hiding from the shame. So, in the spirit of restoring the peace in all our hearts, I’m sharing this piece here.
And just because it’s fun…How Throwback Thursday Benefits our Psychological Well-Being on Psych Central.
A lot’s changed since that first post, but also not. The core message has remained the same: sincere self-expression, meeting pain with love, practicing gratitude, and flowing between holding on and letting go are the building blocks of inner peace. I hope you find some insights in these pieces as well as the bits of the journey that often go untold.
If you’re looking for more peace, love, and strength in your life, check out There, I Might Find Peace.
Stay tuned for more tomorrow as we close out Peace Week!
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