Pain is my wise teacher. But not my destiny.
When I was 50, I completely decompensated from surgery to repair a torn tendon in my shoulder that left me exhausted, sick, and with such exquisite back and hip pain I struggled to walk. The simple bending and twisting of unloading dishes from the dishwasher or reaching for a book on the shelf—all my ordinary everyday activities—were…
This is part 3 of my Body-Soul Resilience 2021 series. Become a subscriber to have these drop right into your in-box.
Dear One,
Did you know our bodies manufacture a million new white blood cells every ten seconds?
And get a completely new immune system—literally trillions of cells and immune molecules designed to rejuvenate and keep us safe—every few months?
What does this tell us?
There’s…
Dear One,
I’ve come to realize there’s only one reason we don’t heal.
Or succeed.
Or get ourselves unstuck from our problems and predicaments.
You know where I’m going with this, don’t you?
That’s right—it’s in our stories.
Our stories about what’s possible and not possible.
That’s it. Nothing else.
You know these stories, right?
They go like this:
I can’t. I don’t have time. I’m stuck in…
Carrie was told a story that nothing was wrong, though she was sick and suffering and knew in her bones what her doctor said wasn’t true. But the very same story was repeated many times by experts who must have known more than she did.
She was sick and suffering. She knew that. She knew her life had suddenly changed when she developed…
I just finished writing in my journal about two minor but painful events that I just couldn’t let go of. They kept swirling around and around in my mind without resolution and left me feeling inadequate, disempowered, and uncomfortable. As soon as I unloaded my story on the pages of my sacred journal, I then wrote these words to myself, “Good job on the feelings, K! Now, let’s soothe and…
My entire philosophy of healing and medicine can be summed up in one word: Unbroken.
This is how I approach every single one of my clients (and myself!)—that in spite of our pain, suffering, stuckness, and longing for things to be better, we are inherently unbroken.
Instead, through our pain, suffering, stuckness, and longing for things to be better, we’re called to discover what we need to…
Dear One,
In the season of the United States’ Independence Day, I find myself reflecting on the meaning of freedom.
Even as a little girl I found myself confused by the words of the Star-Spangled Banner, written during the War of 1812—the “second war of independence” from the British—later becoming our national anthem and theme song of our independence and patriotism. To my young mind…
Dear One,
You know me as a physician and scholar of the cultural narratives that define what medicine is today. I’m fascinated by how the way medicine is practiced in America is profoundly influenced by dominant narratives about science, the human body, disease, gender, sexuality, race, and what we believe about our futures.
I’ve come to realize that it’s all narrative. Everything we think we…
Dear One,
Can we be honest with each other? Here in this space where it’s safe to do so?
The virus isn’t our problem.
There. I’ve said it.
I’ll say it again. The virus is not our problem. It never was. And until we get this through our fearful heads, looking for the simple story and simple solutions, we’re going to remain in a world of hurt. And tragedy. And sorrow. And it’s all so…
Dear One,
I don’t know about you, but I’m ditching all social media and news forever! And maybe all casual conversation with strangers while I’m at it. Have you ever heard so many locked down stories in your life? How things are. How we should behave. What must happen. Yada, yada. I’m sick of it.
You’re absolutely right—I’m being triggered. And that’s about me, isn’t it?
So, I pull out my…
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