Once upon a time, I knew a man.
I met him at a writing course which he was teaching at Bøler Library.
Today I found out that he has crossed over to the other side.
I felt a strong desire to honour him by sharing a poem he had written.
Continue reading RIP Mr Nils
Why nostalgia is important? Nostalgia is a shield against existential challenges. Evoking positive experiences and feelings from the past can help you cope better with the present and the future. January for me is the month to think about what happened the year before. To make a balance, to see what went well and what went less well. What I achieved, and what I would … Continue reading Why Nostalgia is Important?
The Parable of the Second Arrow According to the Buddha, any time we suffer misfortune, two arrows fly our way. The first arrow is the bad event itself, which certainly can (and often does) cause pain. The second arrow is our reaction to the bad event, the suffering we attach to our pain. This secondary pain, he tells us, is always self-inflicted. What you might not have been told, however, … Continue reading Escaping the Emotional Rabbit Hole
Inside this chest pounds a heart so steady. Inside this head lives a brain so alive. And somewhere in between rests a spirit so gentle, even the tiniest of scratches leaves a scar. . . . How would you describe your spirit, Dear Reader? What inspires you? What shakes you to your core? (Such easy questions to answer, I know!) 🙈 We’re in this thing … Continue reading SnapDragon Speaks: On The Gentle Spirit.
I fondly remember the days of grammar-school playgrounds; of brown-bagged lunches; of field trips to museums, caverns, and coal mines. I remember the sense of belonging within those classroom walls. There was a constance amongst us kids: a comradery that strengthened with each lesson, each game, each talent show. The questions we asked were not stupid, but welcomed. We were family. And as the decades … Continue reading SnapDragon Speaks: On The Same Side.
Greetings, Dear Reader! The SnapDragon Family is currently on the road, seeing some sights during this all-too-depressing season of lockdown during winter in Pennsylvania. (starts shivering, and hides head beneath a blanket) We’re cozied up in our Berkshire Class-A RV, embracing the open road and relishing the chance to travel to the American southeast. Sure it’s just us three—we’re still in a pandemic, mind you—but … Continue reading SnapDragon Speaks: On All I Need.
A life is infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things. When you zoom the lens out, when you consider the enormity of existence. A life is but a speck in the vastness of time and space. A life is nothing. It matters not a jot. But when you zoom the lens in, past all of the galaxies and all of the solar systems, past all … Continue reading The Meaning Of Your Life
“We try so hard to hide everything we’re really feeling from those who probably need to know our true feelings the most. People try to bottle up their emotions, as if it’s somehow wrong to have natural reactions to life.” Colleen Hoover I have been thinking about my “feelings” a lot lately. Emotional feelings that is, and how they tie to my physical body. I … Continue reading How Are You “Feeling?”
Provided by Danielle Davis from The Nurse’s Heart “Flowers don’t open and close according to who is walking by. They open and show their beauty regardless.” – Rebecca Campbell A recent realization I have had is that I struggle with using my voice or “speaking my truth.” I know I am not alone in this. I believe this is a struggle for many of us – … Continue reading Finding My Voice
First of all, I’d like to apologize for not publishing on here for the last three weeks or so… I had a rough couple of days and needed a little break. But I’m back, so let’s get to it! 🙂 It was someday during this week that I had started a 15 thread long LinkedIn argument with a leadership expert that was all on respect, … Continue reading That One Thing We Have To Get Straight
One of my most interested fields in psychology is that of dating and understanding how to find and interact with our romantic partner. There is no doubt that if you are in a relationship or married, that you haven’t been through some sort of emotional or mental rollercoaster with your partner. That’s just part of the process, and more often than not, we resolve whatever … Continue reading The Most Important Thing(s) To Understand About Your Relationship
‘A Lion used to prowl about a field in which Four Oxen used to dwell. Many a time he tried to attack them; but whenever he came near they turned their tails to one another, so that whichever way he approached them he was met by the horns of one of them. At last, however, they fell a-quarrelling among themselves, and each went off to … Continue reading Together Is Better
In our post industrial, feminist world, its not as clear a it used to be what a man is or what he should be. We live in a world, in which feminist groups often associate man’s masculinity with ‘tyranny’ and as a result believe in degrading men’s masculinity. Centuries ago, a mans duty was power and protection. Decades ago, it was to work and provide. … Continue reading How To Be An Attractive Man
We are often told to act in alignment to what we feel. How we feel. For whom we feel. This notion of acting in alignment with our feelings can be a dangerous mindset. In fact, allow me to tell you that your feelings are completley overrated. They are unimportant. Look, there are only 2 reasons to do things in life. Because it feels good Because … Continue reading Your Feelings Are Overrated.
This is a term used in psychology for events happening because we’re expecting them. “A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.” – Wikipedia In simpler words: your predictions will come true because unconsciously you’ll behave in such a way to … Continue reading The Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Does it happen to you that whenever you have a great idea about something, immediately your mind is filled with automatic negative thoughts about why it can’t get real? And if this happens, do you find solutions to counter the negative thoughts or you just drop the idea? If you drop the idea, I think that it’s because of the fear… fear of losing … Continue reading Fear – our biggest obstacle?
I’m not going to try to answer this question from a technological point of view, but rather from a psychological one. How often are we saying to ourselves that when we’ll get something we’ll be happier? How many times we’re letting the tomorrow interfere with the today? How many opportunities to be happy we’re missing just because we’re thinking about something in the future … Continue reading Are we living in the future?
All of us have addictions, but do we realize it? When I say addictions, I’m not talking only about substances (like drugs, nicotine or alcohol), I’m also talking about addictions to actions (like playing video games, watching movies or reading books) and addictions to certain people. I think that, in essence, addictions are ways to briefly escape the cruel reality. All of us … Continue reading Addictions
Have you ever wondered how this law of attraction works? In theory, if you have positive thoughts, the universe will give you positive things, and if you have negative thoughts, the universe will give you negative things. It’s pretty straight forward, right? Let’s have a closer look. I don’t know how much the universe is involved in all of this, but here’s how … Continue reading A few words about The Law of Attraction
