There is one big thing that I have come to realize the more I progress in my identity development: namely, that it becomes impossible for me to live a textbook life, one that is defined by to do’s, goals, successes that everyone understands, and techniques to manipulate and control the challenges in my relationships and life. (…)

I’m writing these lines in a state of rage, as clear and as much at the forefront as I’ve ever witnessed it before. (…)

As a mediator, I’ve done my fair share of communications training that taught me wonderful and practical techniques to determine and express feelings and needs. And yet, only through thorough self-encounter have I gradually realized what it really means for my core needs to have gone unmet (…)

Never before have I experienced such a battle around truth(s), such a fog of information and/or misinformation, and such accompanying social and personal division that reaches my most intimate relationships. Since when have I become such a truth seeker? And where do I actually look for truth? (…)

Maybe it sounds a bit counter-intuitive to presume the love around us when the more dominant notion is that of fear and separation - but: it’s Christmas and, probably more importantly, when we’re simply present for the struggles, blame, and ensuing separation inside and outside of us, there naturally is an underlying current of unity, patience, embrace, and love. (…)

This is the season of reflection, connection, and love, heartwarming and heart-breaking at the same time. Now, love is complicated; I‘m not going to pretend to explain it here. What I know, though, is that it is difficult for love to emerge, be held, and be maintained, when in separation. Which is what brings me to “embracing separation”. (…)