Tag: compassion

Forgiveness is a cornerstone of healthy relationships, yet it is often one of the hardest acts to perform. Understanding why forgiveness is challenging and recognizing its profound benefits can help individuals and couples navigate the complexities of their relationships with greater empathy and resilience.

Why Forgiveness is Hard

Forgiveness requires us to confront our pain and vulnerability. When someone we care about hurts us, it triggers a range of intense emotions—anger, betrayal, sadness—that can be difficult to process. Holding onto these feelings can create a sense of control or protection, making it feel safer than the perceived risk of getting hurt again. Additionally, societal messages often equate forgiveness with weakness or submission, further complicating our willingness to let go of resentment.

Forgiveness also involves a shift in perspective. It requires empathy and understanding towards ...

For years I often heard people say that you have to go through grief and pain, you can’t go around it, you can’t go above it, you have to go through it. For years I didn’t understand what that meant. We live in an incredibly emotionally avoidant culture which then leads to chronic mental emotional health struggles, high addiction and disconnection from self and others among other symptoms. 

In order to move through grief or pain a person must create a safe space for emotions to build. Like a wave on a beach, emotions need to be able to build and crash safely on the shore before they can recede out and become calm again. Instead of allowing the natural flow, we often dam up the water as high as we can to keep it from crashing, but then when it inevitably breaks the dam, and the lifetime of suppressed emotions can come cascading and flooding ...

One of the most impactful books that I have ever read is called “The Wisdom of Your Body” by Dr. Hillary McBride. Think of this as part book review, part encouragement to go read this book and an invitation to step into wholeness, connection, and healing through embodiment. 

So, what exactly is embodiment? McBride states that “there is no unified definition of embodiment.” It is often understood as a ‘quality or idea that is being lived out.” For example, an author or speaker hopefully lives out what they write about or speak about, thus embodying their platform or message.  In the context of this book, McBride describes it as something farther reaching. That is, “the experience of being a body in a social context.” It means that to live embodied is to unapologetically take up space. 

McBri ...