Walks With My Dog

A while ago, I started a morning practice before I went to work. The effects that it had on me were immense and far reaching and even life-changing, I would say. After I fully built this routine into my life, I started talking about it a lot. Telling everyone in my life how transformative it…

Me Too, Because

This trending topic of #metoo has me feeling a lot of feels. I was not initially triggered by the viral post and barely blinked an eye before posting my own declaration of ‘me too’. But, as I reflect a bit more on it, there are a lot of feelings that are surfacing. For one, just 5…

A Letter To My 17-Year-Old Self

Around this time last year my therapist, who also practices shamanistic healing, performed a soul-retrieval on me. Prior to her expressing interest in doing this with me, I had never heard of such a practice. With age, I have gotten a bit more hokey in my beliefs – everything and everyone is connected, past lives…

Adventures in Shopping

Yesterday afternoon, despite living in a metropolitan area with countless large grocery stores within 5 minutes in any direction, I drove 20 minutes to Trader Joe’s to go food shopping. On a weekly basis I forgo the closer options, not for the stellar food products, but for the simplicity of the store and lack of…

Lessons The Universe Has Brought Me

Today when I was walking my dog after work, I felt that familiar call from within to write something. I’ve been receiving these calls regularly for years now and I’ve become insanely good at sending them to voicemail. This particular call was accompanied by a memory of a recurring theme that I tend to forget…

Everybody’s Aunt

**TRIGGER WARNING** Mention of details of an occurrence of sexual abuse. When you grow up being told on numerous occasions that you remind people {{your twelve year old peers}} of their aunt… it sort of stays with you. I’m not saying it’s the worst thing that could happen in adolescence, but coupled with a few…

There is much to be said.

I am saddened. I am disgusted. I am seething. The state of my country right now is appalling. I am embarrassed of our leaders and I am scared for my livelihood and the lives of my friends. Today is the day that the KKK took off their hoods. A snippet of a modern day civil…

Unknown, Shmun-known

This morning, I sit at my kitchen table drinking my coffee and dreaming. If you’d observed my Monday mornings over the last several months, you would know this is not a typical Monday morning. This is the first Monday morning after making a huge and scary decision that has the potential to change my life…

On Not Apologizing for Being Sensitive

My whole life I’ve been told, “get over it, Shan,” or “you’re too sensitive,” or “it’s not a big deal.” I used to think it was a kid thing, that it was an insult kids used to fling at me because kids tend to do that willy-nilly. I thought surely I would grow out of…

Hit The Ground Running

  Yes, I’ve made it home from the Emerald Isle safe and sound. Around 10 o’clock the night before my departure, I went to print out my boarding pass and realized the airline had moved the time of my flight up 1 hour! This wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t depending completely on public…