I once had a minister tell me that every time they did a talk about the Dreaded Practice, fewer people would come to church that Sunday. What on earth could be that Dreaded? Meditation? Journaling? Taking a spiritual inventory? No, my friends. It’s something much,...
I’m a lifelong learner, so no matter how completely and horribly crappy something turns out, I’m always looking for the lesson to be learned from it. Take friendships, for example. I’ve got all kinds of friends in my life – those I’ve known for decades and those I’ve...
Dear Meli, My wife and I were married for forty long years. It was a good marriage for the first couple of decades, but the second half of our marriage was challenging. My wife had numerous challenges with her mental health, one of which was frequent outbursts of...
Some of you just read the title of this post and are now saying, “But Z, I thought your pronoun was ‘they’!” You are correct. My pronouns are they/them/theirs. I define as gender-rich, and “they” is the pronoun that fits me best. But other...
Dear Meli, My husband died a few years ago, and ever since then I haven’t felt as connected to my life here on earth. It’s not that I’m depressed necessarily, but I also don’t know why I’m still here. I’ve lived a good life, and I...
Dear Meli, My mother died of Covid a few months ago. She was in her early nineties, and she had already started to decline. Covid was the final straw, but she was ready to go. And yet, even though I know this, I have been having a hell of a time. Her death has knocked...