For most of my life, I have had a skewed version of what love is. My relationship with love is complicated, at times, torturous. It would be simple to say I fall in love easily; I wear my heart on my sleeve and believe in the good of all people. But as I said, my…
Steps They are important They carry you From point A To point B From the start To the end From danger To safety From pain To…. Steps They are important But they can’t Rid your heart Of the pain That stays Always
Today my #BeReal guest is Dawn (HardlyBored). I have spent the last few weeks thinking about the future. Mostly because I have been sick. This is not the first time in my life I have wondered if I will have a future. The first time I was 18 and my “husband” had just choked me nearly…
The silence unsettles me I could never make it my home Sometimes words fail me And thoughts hide frozen and numb The outside world is missing Biting its tongue, abandoning me I am not one to enjoy quiet solitude It taunts me, surrounds me, imprisons me Is it the world ignoring me? Or am I…
My RELATIONSHIPS ARE HARD guest today is Nicole Lyons. It would be an understatement to say she means a lot to me. She means a lot to many people. She has had many kind words for me when I needed them most. This piece is all too common. These situations are traumatic. I know. I…
My #BeReal Guest today is Christine Cissy White. I spent an hour trying to decide how to introduce today’s guest. I can’t do it justice. You need to read this. If you ever feel your story isn’t important all you have to do is read this. Your #BeReal might be the very things someone else…
Byron Hamel is my #BeReal guest today. There are many things I love about Byron. I think he is the kind of REAL that changes lives. But I don’t want you to take my word it; I want you to discover him for yourself. Here are a just a few of his stories. If you…
***TRIGGER WARNING*** Some stories you hear stay with you and you have to write them out or go mad. In many cases all I have to do is read a news blurb and my mind twists and turns in agony with the pain of it all. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what…
I don’t believe in new beginnings. We can strive to put the past behind us and move forward one step at a time. We can try to put distance between those moments of trauma and try to live again but… pain doesn’t die. Have you ever been told that you need to just get over…
I love this story about the flexibility of the human spirit. It’s much more than that though. It’s about making choices. It’s about choosing to continue the cycle of abuse, or choosing instead to become a champion for love. A lot of people raised with violence commit violent crimes themselves. They often end up going…
HASTYWORDS 