“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” — Kahlil Gibran

 The Phoenix and the Fire

In ancient myth, the phoenix is a radiant bird that lives for centuries before building its own funeral pyre. It burns in the flames, only ...

A few years ago, someone I worked with told me — months after we’d become friends — that they used to think I was snobby and unfriendly. It caught me off guard. I remember laughing awkwardly, then admitting, “I’m actually just shy. I’ve always been that way.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard s...

In the documentary The Wisdom of Trauma, Dr. Gabor Maté reframes trauma not as a rare affliction, but as a universal experience — one that disconnects us from our true selves. He doesn’t offer a cure. He offers something more radical: the idea that healing is possible, not by erasing pain, but...

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

We all remember the wicked queen in Snow White — obsessed with being the most admired. But beneath her vanity was something deeper: insecurity, comparison, and a desperate need for external validation.

She didn’t love herself. She ...

Last night in martial arts class, I watched a young boy take his belt test. Every week leading up to it, he asked the same question: “Am I ready yet?” His eyes sparkled with hope, his body moved with determination, and his heart was wide open. He wanted it so badly. And I saw him work—really work...

I used to think I was just chill. But emotionally? I was like a phone with 3% battery and no charger in sight. Functional, barely. Available? Not really.

If someone offered help, I’d say, “Oh no, I’ve got it!” while juggling flaming swords, a broken heart, and three overdue therapy sessions. ...

There’s a moment after a relationship ends when everything feels louder. The silence in your home, the absence of texts, the empty space beside you in bed—it all echoes. And in that echo, it’s easy to believe the grass must be greener somewhere else. That maybe if you just found someone new, you’...

Last week, I went to dinner with a dear friend who’s been navigating life after a long-term relationship ended six months ago. Between bites of pasta and sips of wine, she looked up and asked, “How do I let go?”

Her voice was steady, but her eyes carried the weight of something deeper—grief. Not...

How to Trust Again After Betrayal, Starting With Yourself

I was reading about Vince Neil’s breakup recently, and I had real empathy for him. As an '80s girl who grew up blasting Mötley Crüe, I’ve always had a soft spot for Vince. I’m a concert t-shirt and jeans kinda girl—music was my escape, my...

When we talk about trauma, we often focus on the pain, the flashbacks, the anxiety. But what if we reframed it? What if we saw our trauma responses not as dysfunctions—but as brilliant survival strategies?

The 4 Fs: Your Brain’s Emergency Toolkit

Trauma activates what psychologists call the 4 F...