So the next question is: how can I live a life of service, here and now? How can I let go of my <\/span>stuff<\/span> that sometimes chains me, like a dog to a post, and move clearly forward in my life? <\/span> And for me that is more and more boiling down to two things: Teaching \u2013 finishing my ph.d, accepting the twists and turns needed to get there <\/span>and the places this may take me. And family \u2013 settling down, merging paths with another.<\/p>\n But, for now, it begins with gratitude<\/span>:<\/p>\n In my visit with my folks last week, my mother \u2013 a social worker \u2013 told me of the power of awareness in children of dysfunctional families<\/span>. As it turns out, people who were raised in dysfunctional families who tested as having little awareness<\/span> of their unhealthy upbringing had about a 90% chance of having children with unhealthy emotional boundaries and coping mechanisms. Yet in those people who showed high awareness of the dysfunctionality of their childhood, only about 10% perpetuated the cycle. So, with awareness there is hope<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n With smiles and joy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a bit since my last gratitude post. As usual, I suppose, I\u2019ve spent the time with friends, in nature, and hard at work. In my more pensive moments, I\u2019ve found myself asking: what\u2019s it all about? (and I laugh now) And my mind tends to toss and turn, this way and that. Until, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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