If I had a hammer… I’d beat myself with it for not doing more…

I’d like to say it’s compassion fatigue, or burnout over spreading myself too thin. But my languishing recently has been from a feeling of futility and hopelessness. It wasn’t an abundance of compassion sent outwards into the world that wore me out. It was the absorption of an abundance of suffering without the ability toContinue reading “If I had a hammer… I’d beat myself with it for not doing more…”

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Closer to Fine: Three years of self-employment and Father Clay’s Path of Freedom

I celebrated three years in my freelance business last month. It’s been an amazing experience to find clients, do work for them, collect actual money from them, and then get repeat business and referrals. I NEVER dreamed of self-employment and assumed I’d always be an employee. I bought into the idea that the only wayContinue reading “Closer to Fine: Three years of self-employment and Father Clay’s Path of Freedom”

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Peace (and justice) from anger

The first time I made peace with anger was deeply personal: I was deciding what kind of job to get after my layoff, and I had to admit to myself that I was angry I had worked so much when my kids were babies. I wanted to call it something other than anger, and itContinue reading “Peace (and justice) from anger”

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More love, less accountability for your New Year’s Resolutions

I have plenty of fodder for New Year’s Resolutions, considering all the things I signed up for in the last few months of 2021: a peer networking group. A passion collective. Cooking for Lasagna Love. A LinkedIn “pod” where members promote each other’s content. Wearing the same dress for 100 days. I started a spiritualityContinue reading “More love, less accountability for your New Year’s Resolutions”

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Lessons in love from feminist icons

bell hooks died yesterday. She was a pioneering Black feminist and pushed the conversation on women’s rights to include Black women’s rights. I can’t think about bell hooks without thinking about Sister Nancy Hynes and the other Sisters in the English Department a the College of St. Benedict. I’ve often said I learned feminism fromContinue reading “Lessons in love from feminist icons”

Mother Teresa or Janis Joplin? Quite a spectrum

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend – reunited with people and traditions we missed so much last year. We ate a lot of turkey, lasagna, pie, fudge, quiche, cake and charcuterie. We played games and played with cousins and walked the dog. I reveled in things I’d been missing, and I worried about things IContinue reading “Mother Teresa or Janis Joplin? Quite a spectrum”

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Spirituality, Eros and the Great Resignation

Today I have no meetings, and tasks are expanding to fill the vast swaths of empty time. Which means I’m scrolling through LinkedIn a lot. Which means I’m seeing lots of stories of people leaving their jobs, lamenting or celebrating the Great Resignation, posting new job openings on their teams. I have calls this weekContinue reading “Spirituality, Eros and the Great Resignation”

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That time I was not compassionate

Right before the pandemic started, Anna came home with a handout from school urging us to “THINK before you speak. ” Ask yourself, “Is it True? is it Helpful? Is it Important? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?” We keep it on our fridge, but it’s buried under lots of meal plans and sports schedules,Continue reading “That time I was not compassionate”

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