I write this in memory of my father and don’t worry, I’ve tagged it in humor. It’s my recollection of one of the last times I saw him before his unexpected death. Anyone who has a perfectionist for a father will get a chuckle out of this anecdote…

Recently, as I waited at a red light I looked at all the license plates on the cars surrounding me. Not necessarily to see if they were from somewhere far away but to inspect the screws securing the plates. Strange, I know.

I blame my late father. I can still see him on that sunny July afternoon: bent down lower than a man his age should be. The object of his inspection? The oversized screws holding my license plate. Much to his consternation not only were these screws obviously too big for the job, but they were unsightly. This is just the thing that could keep my father awake at night.

First, let me just say this isn’t a post about how to know if you are an empath. I just want to express the problems I’ve experienced as an empath myself and offer tips for those of you who are feeling especially tapped out right now.

Empaths are vulnerable to abusive people who take advantage of their good nature and well of compassion. Empaths are far from perfect and are often told they are too sensitive.

unknown source

It’s no secret that going no-contact from the narcissist in your life is the ultimate solution to taking your life back. Taking back your power that has been stolen by a narcissist isn’t easy but it is necessary to allow yourself to get on with your life and begin healing. But not everyone is in a position to go no contact.

Incidentally, in case you’re wondering if the Six Degrees is a play on words, it is.  It’s based on the theory that we are all separated by only six people. So, by the time we get to a seventh (random) person, the chances are pretty good that we know someone in common. But I’ve digressed. Suffice to know that we can also choose to separate ourselves by degrees. Comes in handy when we have a narcissist in our life…

After divorce we feel defeated in love.  We might stop believing in it altogether.

We may be spending what little energy we have left after the battle, providing and being there for our children.  We’ve stopped believing in fairy tales but the time will come eventually when we look forward to new relationship(s).

Maybe we’re even looking for that perfect fit we call love. You know what I mean…that someone out there who holds the key to our heart, if only we knew where to find them!

June has come and gone in a blur. Honestly? I haven’t been productive at all where my writing is concerned. YES, I did publish a book on June 1st…so, there’s that.

I can’t believe we’re well into month five of 2018. Almost half way through another year…and I was thinking back to my promise to live ‘fearlessly authentic’ in 2018. It’s time for a quick check-in to see how I’m doing. You may recall this wonderful image that inspired my whole year;

image used with permission from wikimedia

Have you ever wondered if there are gender differences in narcissists? Well, I wondered that very thing recently so I did a little research. Turns out, narcissists are more alike than different regardless of gender. That said there are a few specific differences in the behaviors of narcissistic men and women.

image source; unsplash.com by Josh Applegate

Religion is a powerful force that aims to project a system of beliefs, to instill faith and community. Often, in any religion you will find traditions and events to mark a ‘coming of age’ or a celebration of accomplishment in that faith. Similarly, wedding ceremonies are conducted in our faith of choice and become one of those celebrations.

image by artist Peter Strain

In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the main character decides to have his memories of his ex erased. These included ALL memories, good and bad. Did he once love her? Absolutely. When she broke it off with him though, the pain was too great to bear and he decides to erase her altogether.  (That was after he found out she had done it first)

The narc has some of that ability without the freaky procedure we saw administered in the film. Just to be clear, this film is not about narcissism. It’s a quirky, bizarre love story. It’s the spotless mind reference that has a likeness to what little can be understood of the narcissist’s brain function.

Alana, me and Luke

They say if you raise your children right, you set their roots so they can later grow wings…or something to that effect. I’m thinking upon my son’s one year departure to Australia, that the wings may have grown too large, uplifting those roots. I guess that’s the idea though and no one is to blame