Articles

A Re-Imagined System

The system is broken. Do you agree? Let’s define it. The system is government, supply chains, and the way you get what you need to live. Your job is part of it. Healthcare, education, and housing are part of it. Money is part of it. The script you were handed for how your life should look is part of it. Reward and punishment, morality and religion — all part of the system. The only thing not part of the system is you. You exist within it, but you are separate from it. Who runs the system? People. Individual people knowingly and intentionally perpetuate broken structures that create lack and struggle. And because people created it, it can be changed. The system is not natural. It is not inevitable. It is not permanent. Continuing to struggle is a choice, not a requirement. Struggle was never meant to be part of your existence. Problems will always arise — but survival should not depend on them. What stops us from changing the system? Fear. Greed. Power. Control. Those who gain power inside the system often want to reshape it in their own image — but only by moving the same broken pieces around.

Writing to Find Truth: A Reflection on the Philosophers Who Did the Same

I wrote my way to the clarity and truth I have now. Most philosophers do the same thing. They write to find truth. When I look at philosophical texts, I see where they got stuck in the human rules, in their own stories and perceptions, and I understand how incredibly difficult it is to challenge those things. Many times, I question how much these old philosophers were able to fully live their philosophies. Kierkegaard, for example, did live his philosophy—at the expense of everything else. Why? Because he lived it in secret. He hid, avoided relationships, all but dodged life to maintain integrity with his philosophy. The problem that many have is that the philosophy becomes the justification for their life choices. They end up in a mental loop where their philosophy justifies their choices, and their choices justify their philosophy. Even if it creates pain, they accept that as the consequence of living life the way they’ve conceptualized it. Kierkegaard believed that the pain he felt was the point. The pain was the point of the human experience. The pain justified his philosophy. Kierkegaard, Sartre, Jung, Camus, and many others brought messages to life that they felt would help

How to Stop Living in The Contradiction

Do as I say, not as I do. In parenting, it looks like swearing like a pirate while telling your kids not to. Or demanding they get off their screens while you keep scrolling Facebook. Or better—telling your kids not to hit while you spank them. In politics, it looks like being told you live in a free country while being handed a list of rules you didn’t ask for. It looks like “free speech” that isn’t really free, because there are still things you’re not allowed to say. Where in your life do you live in the contradiction?Where do you say one thing and do the opposite?Where do your beliefs conflict with the way you actually live? If there’s a contradiction, then something isn’t true. Let’s be real—there’s plenty of grey area in life. Something isn’t always hot or cold—it’s warm. That’s fine.Grey areas are part of the deal.We just have to make sure we actually see the grey for what it is.Not pretend it’s clear when it isn’t. Not call it truth when it’s actually contradiction. I remember when my daughter was little, I believed in the idea of a bedtime.But can you actually make somebody sleep? Have

I Didn’t Know What I Was Doing Then – I Do Now

Back in 2002, when I was pregnant with my daughter, sleep deprivation wasn’t an option. I simply didn’t function on just a few hours of broken sleep—it made me physically sick. I needed to get a full night’s rest, or at least something close to it, most nights. But how? Google was still new then, but it had content—even back then. I started searching for ways to avoid sleep deprivation while parenting a newborn. That’s when I found attachment parenting. Dr. Sears was talking about co-sleeping, and after a little reading, I realized this could be my way around the exhaustion. I knew co-sleeping was normal in many places around the world—North America was the exception, not the rule. So, I decided I was going to co-sleep. After more reading to figure out how to do it safely, I set off on my co-sleeping journey. Attachment parenting introduced me to extended breastfeeding, too. Co-sleeping and breastfeeding meant I didn’t have to get up at night to make bottles or fuss with anything. I could sleep topless, just roll over, stick a boob in my daughter’s mouth, and go right back to sleep. Brilliant. Another problem solved. I was still pregnant