Mindfulness

I was listening to a podcast about transformations this morning as I walked to the gym. People were telling their stories about how they went from one thing to something completely different. One was a boy who grew up in a fundamental Islamic household, his father a convicted terrorist, and then became an anti-extremist activist. Another a gang member who served time for murder who is now doing outreach and motivational speaking. Then a couple of the examples were more physical in nature in terms of gender and the inability to walk. All of these stories were amazing and even though the host never highlighted the similarities between these stories it was quite apparent. New Year's is upon us and this is normally the time when all of us make wishes about the transformations we want to make in the upcoming year. Most likely the reason why this podcast chose the theme of transformations, because it is on all of our minds. Of course, most of us make goals for the new year and many o

If there is one thing that I am certain of it would be that I still have a lot to learn. The second thing I am beginning to become certain of is that life is a process. A series of decisions, reflections, adjustments, and setting goals that, in theory, are to be repeated as we take our own individual journeys. It is easy to feel as if everyone else has things figured out while you struggle, but the truth is we all struggle, even the motivational gurus and celebrities that sell you ideas of happiness. The thing about this process though is that you need to be honest with yourself about your shortcomings, your obstacles, your baggage, and your own toxic behaviors. Those conversations are hard. Why? We live in a world where failure is seen as a weakness and our brains tend to have a negativity bias holding on to pain longer than we should as well as repeating hurtful words that have been said to us on loop. As a teacher and as a resource kid I live in the world of what failure can d

This is not going to a long blog post, because my major musings are more global in scale and I have yet to even contain those thoughts even 1%. I will though leave you with this thought. Life is crazy, hectic, and one hell of a ride sometimes. But even when you are ragged and exhausted if you are not having fun then something is not quite right. Right now I am thinking about the future of my discipline, unsure of where it is going, trusting the process, and knowing there are many learning curves. I have signed up for new responsibilities with a research group, maintaining certain work I have always done, and maybe even contemplating coaching soccer. My plate is not emptier or lighter, but my plate is definitely filled with more nutrient rich food.  Taking on projects I am passionate about, care about, and make my Ravenclaw mind run with abandon to solve a problem that has yet to be solved. I got rid of the things that I was doing out of being a 'team player' that really was