Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

The Love We Deserve   Leave a comment

“We accept the love we think we deserve.” – Stephen Chbosky As I look through my last few posts, I notice a theme: books and movies. Welcome to winter in northern Indiana. Last weekend I watched a movie I’m still thinking about: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. When I rented it, I thought it [...]

Posted February 22, 2013 by virginiaolson in Uncategorized

Tagged with , ,

Enlightened?   2 comments

I just finished watching Season 1 of HBO’s Enlightened, starring Laura Dern and recently released on DVD. It’s an ambitious show that attempts to tackle the complexities of the inner landscape, and what happens when we are in the process of re-shaping core beliefs. The main character, Amy, has just returned from a stay at [...]

Deliver us from Evil, Part II   Leave a comment

Read Part I of this entry. Wright’s book included a substantial discussion of forgiveness, and he made several interesting points. I’ve noted that there’s a lot of confusion surrounding the concept of forgiveness, and that it’s often mis-understood, first and foremost, because forgiving is often equated with forgetting: “Forgive and forget.” But they are not [...]

Deliver us from Evil   Leave a comment

I just finished reading Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright. It was both more and less than I expected. While a relatively short book (less than 200 pages) surely cannot hope to tackle the topic of evil in its entirety, it did present some ideas and definitions which I think merit further [...]

On Letting Go, Part III   Leave a comment

How do we know when to let go, and when to hold on? Sometimes when presented with a challenging person or situation in our lives, it can be difficult to determine what constitutes right action. If what we’re facing is unlike anything we’ve experienced before, can we evaluate it on the merits of our previous [...]

Posted January 23, 2013 by virginiaolson in Self-actualization, Uncategorized

Echoes from the Past, Part II   Leave a comment

At the end of part I of this entry, I said that really easy things are rarely worth doing anyway. But, let’s take that a step further. Does it then follow that all difficult things are worth doing, just to prove a point? Should I dedicate my life to proving that oil and water can [...]

Posted January 13, 2013 by virginiaolson in Uncategorized

A New Year, A New You?   Leave a comment

“So, any new year’s resolutions?” The cashier at the grocery store asked me today. I laughed, “No one ever keeps those anyway.” If you happen to be someone who has made, and kept, a new year’s resolution, then I want to hear from you! You might just be the first – at the very least, [...]

Posted January 2, 2013 by virginiaolson in Self-actualization, Uncategorized

The play’s the thing…   Leave a comment

All the world’s a stage,/ And all the men and women merely players:/ They have their exits and their entrances;/ And one man in his time plays many parts. – Shakespeare There’s a belief common in spiritual practice that all the people who play important roles in our lives, from our parents, to our friends, [...]

Posted December 11, 2012 by virginiaolson in Uncategorized

Tagged with , , , , , ,

Living Well, Part II   Leave a comment

Lately I’ve been having a surprising number of conversations that go something like this… -Are you married? -No -Do you have children? -Nope. -Oh. I’m sorry. Usually the person asking the questions is a relative stranger, and the conversation ends with some sort of awkward pause during which I’m not sure what to say. Apparently [...]

Living Well   Leave a comment

People often say to me, “You seem so calm, all the time. You really must have no stress in your life.” I must admit, I’m terribly flattered…and also surprised. It’s a lovely compliment which no doubt speaks to how much I’ve learned over the years about stress management and time management. As I’ve mentioned here [...]

Posted October 26, 2012 by virginiaolson in Uncategorized

Tagged with , , , , , ,