Category: Self-Awareness
Ideology vs. Philosophy
I’m in a very privileged position these days. Despite the chaos of trying to figure out which way is up through the charged experience of re-relating to my woman-child as we both go through a familiarly painful process of un-enmeshing and differentiating, the current version of this storm is offering me, once more, ample opportunity…
When It All Comes Together
In early November I embarked on a brand new challenge. After 15 years as an entrepreneur, almost 17 years of motherhood, and with much more information about what is possible in relationship, it’s time for something entirely different. Except it’s not that different, I don’t think. It’s more like a convergence of all the things…
Where the Stillness Lives
How to put into the words the recent experience of moving my life to the back of my body? How to properly explain the emptiness at the front that isn’t loss or lack? How to communicate the peace that comes through the knowing, finally, that everything is exactly as it is meant to be? A…
My introduction to equanimity
Eight years ago when I first embarked with intention on my wellness journey, I began posting photos of my belly on social media. The purpose was definitely brag related, but it was never about weight. It was always about how the outward appearance of my belly reflected a state of inner chaos, and how the…
FINDING LOVE DURING A GLOBAL CRISIS – THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING WITNESSED
Towards the end of April I found myself in a place I’d visited before. I was two and a half months out of a relationship that had ripped my world apart with its ending — for the second time. Unlike the first time that relationship ended, the waves of grief were, astoundingly, still surprising me…
Breaking Up (with social media) Is Incredibly Hard to Do.
It is SO hard to leave social media. I thought I’d left it, but now I know that in this life, and without much more blood sacrifice, I may never be able to truly pull free. On November 16, I pulled the plug on Facebook. I was firm about it. In no uncertain terms, I let…
Resilience and The Edge
In the last two years I’ve experienced divorce after 20 years of marriage, a move, major business challenges, a breakup, and massive attacks from members of communities that I have built. I’d had the arrogance to think that I’d done the work to heal my wounds, that I was tough as nails, and that the…
If I think a thought and don’t put it on the internet, do I really exist?
If I think a thought, and don’t receive 50 likes in validation, did I really even think it? If I feel a feeling and don’t share it with my closest friends, did I even feel it? It’s 2019 and I’m relearning what it means to be on my own, responsible entirely for my own thoughts…
The Impossible Pursuit of Happiness – Lessons from Shtisel
“Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning With all this time I’ve carved out in my life because I quit Facebook, I can now indulge in the pleasure of diving into an engrossing show. My next step will be to simply sit and enjoy the show for…
Cutting through the Noise
Tomorrow it will be five weeks since I left Facebook. I’m still alive. I barely recognize myself. My cage of choice is much smaller than the previous version. But now the decor is more to my taste, and I am in full control of who I choose to allow to occupy it with me. If…
How Accountable Are You?
It’s a big word, accountability. At its base, from dictionary.com: ac·count·a·bil·i·ty /əˌkoun(t)əˈbilədē/ noun the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility. “their lack of accountability has corroded public respect” There is so much to read on the subject, but there’s so much more room for nuance than most people understand. Did you know that…
Ilana Grostern Coaching 