by degrees

By degrees, little by little, from moment to moment a wise man removes his own impurities, as a smith removes the dross of silver or gold.

The Dhammapada

Entries 35

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I just awoke from such a surprising and beautiful dream. I was at a weekend workshop–a Catholic weekend workshop–and there were countless people there from the Catholic Campus Ministry at JMU. ...


March 13, 2021

Working with Anger in by degrees

K: I want you to know I’m really working with anger a lot right now and I need a lot of room for it. I tried to bring it to my NVC Practice Group last night and it did not go well, which amplifi...


It has been a long time since I have written in a journal, and longer since I made it a regular habit. I’m about to enter into a new and important chapter in my life, as I prepare to move to Bou...


December 20, 2018

Stuck. in by degrees

I’m feeling stuck and stagnant, having an unconquerable level of distraction and an inability to focus on anything I need to be doing at work. Things contributing to this place I’m in: ~Kathy’...


“Perhaps the most tragic thing about building a self around competence is that it leads to empty disconnect. You are a complex and dynamic living being. Any attempt to build a one-dimensional, ...


April 10, 2018

Where is the breath? in by degrees

I really shouldn’t be doing this right now because I don’t have time. I don’t know where to begin. I don’t know where to find the space I’m wanting. I spent this weekend on a mindfulness retrea...


October 26, 2017

70 years in by degrees

Dear Robert, Gratitude is too small a word. This one small expression holds much. In my gratitude is held the many times you have reached out and held my hand when I was in pain, and you saw me....


October 23, 2017

Eye Contact in by degrees

This racing heart. I have been working on it. I have been steeping myself in support. In practice. In counseling and meditation, NVC practice (aka group therapy) and time with friends. I ha...


October 14, 2017

almost invisible in by degrees

It creeps in. The subtle grief behind my eyes. I’m not trying to shut it out, but the nature of my busy day-to-day often pushes it off to a different place. It has been living somewhere not qu...


August 24, 2017

What I Want to Say in by degrees

Last night, he texted: “There’s one thing I’ve requested, and I don’t ever need it from you. If you’re interested and capable, you may let me know. I’m starting to think you are unwell. This is ...


Sage advice from Kathy. Separation. It is so hard to just cut it off. I went a full week without contact, and in that time had all of the feelings. The sadness and mourning and grief, the ang...


June 13, 2017

Time Based Needs in by degrees

I’m so tired this morning. And I woke up feeling kind of resentful and pissed off. Which seems odd at first, because everything wrapped up beautifully and in a sweet place last night. And we d...


There are some very cool things happening in my life on all fronts right now, but the one I want to talk about today (because I have a meeting about it tomorrow and need to get my head clear) is ...


April 07, 2017

opening up in by degrees

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phras...


October 07, 2016

rut. in by degrees

I have been feeling like I’m in the middle of a storm cloud for a week now, and it just won’t lift. It will eventually. But for now… One contributing factor is that Hoopie no longer wants to be...


Off and on, I listen to the Tim Ferriss Show podcast. It’s interesting, but since I discovered it when I was living in Bolivia, I really go back and forth on being into it, and then not. I’m no...


May 06, 2016

What to say? in by degrees

Sitting in my hotel room, knowing you are coming to pick me up in the next 20 minutes so we can finally talk, my heart is skipping. But what is it that needs to be said? Thank you? Goodbye? P...


May 03, 2016

So Far Away in by degrees

From the minute I landed back in Ibaraki, I have felt overwhelmed with a sense of homecoming. Dear friends, acquaintances, and even shop owners I knew during my time here, have given me the warm...


April 27, 2016

Every Which Way in by degrees

These past few weeks have been relatively stable, after what seemed like months of ups and downs. However, once again, I’ve stepped onto the roller-coaster. There is a family thing that is goin...


July 19, 2015

Dear Gilberto, in by degrees

First of all, I was never molested, raped, or sexually assaulted. I just want to make that clear. All of my life up until I’ve been living in Bolivia, I have had, for the most part, very positi...


May 05, 2015

This Circle Game in by degrees

I’m in it again. The dark. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m not entering into some kind of clinical depression, the way this comes on so easily. What was it this time? Not sure. It started cree...


Ugh. I have a cold and stomach trouble this week, and the cold just finally hit me full force this morning. The whole deal–sneezes, runny nose, headache, sore throat. It’s awesome. In other ...


I am such a weird dark awful place at this moment, and it’s completely absurd. Clarie is leaving on Saturday, and so tonight, we had her “despedida” or goodbye party. It was absolutely lovely. ...


December 13, 2014

The Struggle with Wanting in by degrees

I am in and out of a funk, and I really know that it’s up to me to get myself to a better place. So I listened to Tara Brach today (she is wonderful), and it really hit on something that’s at th...


September 06, 2014

Ego can be Such a Challenge in by degrees

I woke up from a dream that brought up a lot for me. I dreamed that I was living in Portland with Katie, and we had a big house together. We needed a roommate or two for some unoccupied space i...


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