This week I have the distinct pleasure of putting Vermont’s universal health care system to the test.

For a few weeks now, I haven’t felt exactly right. I can feel my heart beating harder than it should, my chest hurts, my cycles are all screwed up, and I feel like I’m breathing through a straw… at 10,000 feet above sea level.

For the record, I’m not usually a hypochondriac. In fact, I go to great lengths to avoid seeing anyone in the medical profession, for reasons I won’t get into right now. If anything, I have a tendency to downplay the significance of my symptoms. But I have a new theory that EVERYONE becomes a hypochondriac while waiting for a diagnosis. The degree of paranoia is directly related to the amount of time one has to wait.

Posted in acceptance, anxiety, Life 39 Comments »

Recently I was thinking about how difficult it can be when we feel we need to hide our authentic self from others. We know deep down that the person everyone else sees is NOT who we are. We want them to see us, and love us, for who we truly are; but we dare not risk revealing the truth for fear of being rejected… of losing everything we love.

It suddenly dawned on me that my dear friend, Jamie, has lived most of his life this way, because he is gay in the Bible Belt. Being gay anywhere can be challenging; but being gay in ultra-conservative, intolerant towns can be downright dangerous.

Posted in acceptance, inner peace, Letters From Readers, Life 66 Comments »

This is me, in my current cocoon… isn’t it lovely? If I’ve got to curl up and wait for my next phase to begin, I might as well do it in style, right?

I didn’t want to spin my cocoon right now; I tried to fight it off. But the cold, the darkness, and a few other factors all conspired against me, held me down, and whispered in my ear, “It is time to turn inward and begin the metamorphosis.”

I protest, “What metamorphosis? I like where I am now! What’s coming next?”

The answer, “You’ll see…”

That’s all I know.

Posted in about me, acceptance, Spirit of Adventure 37 Comments »