"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns things he can learn no other way." ~ Mark Twain There are two kinds of people in the world. The first type of person gets flagged down in their vehicle by a stranger to warn them, "there's flooding three miles up, so at two miles you're gonna want to take a left on Main Street to avoid it." This kind of person would say "thanks dude," follow the strangers' words to the letter, or they may even turn at the one mile mark, erring on th

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” ~ Benjamin Franklin Owning our mistakes (digging deep until we reach the sacred ground of humility) is a gift we offer to both ourselves and to the ones on the receiving end. Saying "I'm sorry." Why do those words hold the power to raise bile and tighten our throats? Why does it bring us to our metaphorical, and occasionally literal, knees? Why does the very idea of owning our mistakes call out to our deepest internal defense mechanisms

"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." ~ George Bernard Shaw I am fully aware that there are many therapists who believe that pure honesty, in every circumstance, is imperative. I am not one of them. Honesty holds the power to set us free from the bondage of self. We all have secrets, to one degree or another. Secrets we keep from others, and secrets we keep from ourselves. Secrets have the power to keep us sick with shame, depres