“It’s not easy to love or be loved when feelings of abandonment, invalidation, or betrayal are core to your sense of self.”
One of the reasons Messiah complexes don't work
True restoration of another person must involve the meaningful commitment of others to the nourishment of that person’s sense of self. Me (or you) being “messiah” does not grow that person’s dignity, but rather the seeks to nourish my own sense of self instead.
“We cannot survive on images of God only. We need to return to God Himself. He alone is the source of life.”
“If our love grows cold when hard times come, it is not Love.”
I’m not promoting Dove’s “real beauty” campaign by posting this video. I’m just promoting real beauty.
"Kids play soccer in the Zaatari camp. With the massive amount of children in the camp and the large family sizes, children and teenagers are one of the largest issues in the camp regarding crime and violence." (at Zaatari Refugee Camp)
“Laughter is a form of resistance. You’re pushing against the powers of pain.”
The Way
There’s no one way to grieve. I’ve seen it done countless different ways, and I’ve done it a lot of different ways. Grief is a path, a pilgrimage, an experience through which one often discovers clarity regarding the significance (and insignificance) of many things.
Last night my husband and I sat down to watch a movie and accidentally found a film on Netflix called “The Way" (2010). 
The film is about a man named Tom Avery who, after hearing of his son’s sudden death, begins hiking El Camino de Santiago, a well-known pilgrimage route that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the cathedral in northwestern Spain where the remains of St James are buried. As Tom (played by Martin Sheen) hikes this pathway, you get to watch him process his loss, discover an unexpected community of fellow pilgrims, and learn the meaning of his personal pilgrimage on “el Camino.”
If you’re looking for 2 hours of insightful reflection on the themes of loss, humanity, the world, interconnectedness, and meaning, check out this great film which I recommend with great enthusiasm.
((Disclaimer: If you want to enjoy the film more, do not watch the trailer. It spoils it quite a bit. Just take my word for it: it’s worth 2 hrs of your life.))
I think I will need to get one of these for my counseling office!
(I’ve been saying this for years.)
thank God for this little guy.
notes from the bubble
My friend, Andrea, began a blog. I just read the entry about her grandmother and son overlapping and wept. She is a beautiful writer.
What we can do with the fragments.
“Everything was made to shine despite what you can see.”
Abused Children Accused of Withcraft
Parenting is not for the faint of heart. Daily demands add up and can be stressful and unnerving. For parents who’ve been diagnosed with a mental illness, life’s ordinary challenges and daily activities can feel extraordinary—and this can affect the entire family. Psychologist Dan Gottlieb and his guests discuss parenting with a mental illness — how families can cope in a way that allows parents to parent. Dan’s guests include Evan Kaplan, Melodie Jackson, and Katy Kaplan.
Evan Kaplan is the co-founder and CEO of Child and Family Connections, Inc., an entrepreneurial, not-for-profit organization that supports parents with psychiatric disabilities and their children and whose mission is to help families build trust and communication in ways that promote childhood resiliency.
Melodie Jackson is a proud person in recovery from mental health challenges. She is a Certified Peer Specialist and a Certified Recovery Specialist at Al-Assist Behavioral Healthcare Center in Philadelphia and is a workshop facilitator for Children and Family Connections.
Katy Kaplan, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities where she oversees research studies and parenting related initiatives.
“Anxiety is information. Sometimes it is good information, and sometimes it is bad information.”
You just walked away.
“Not wanting to be disturbed by the raw emotions of psychologically injured people, combined with the inability of victims to fully articulate what they feel and need, can have a consummate silencing effect.”
“The [maladaptive] pattern is the enemy, the other person is not the enemy.”