A hand rests on your shoulder, and you don’t flinch. Something settles in, a warmth that needs no words, a quiet promise that you’re not doing this alone. In that simple weight, light on bone and cloth, there’s more comfort than a thousand careful sentences. Your breath slows. Your shoulders drop half an inch. You…
Read moreCategory: Compassionate Voices Articles and Blog
Compassionatevoices Articles and Blog
Missing Your Life: The Danger of Autopilot and Distraction
The Day I Realized I Had No Memory of My Morning Coffee As I looked at the empty mug on my desk, a dry ring of foam clung to the rim. The cup sat right where I thought I’d put it, or had I? I couldn’t recall a single sip. Not the warmth sliding down…
Read moreWhen Chronic Pain Shows Up as an Unwanted Teacher
Chronic pain changes you. I know that as a doctor who has treated it, and as a patient who lives with it. Chronic pain isn’t only a feeling in the body or an issue of physical health. It shifts your thoughts, your mood, and how you move through the day. It also pushes on your…
Read moreThe Art of Saying No When Your Body Already Said Yes
The Art of Saying No (When Your Body Already Said Yes) For years, I took pride in being the person who shows up. I said yes to almost every invitation. I was the friend people called when they needed help, the family member who stepped in whenever I could. Then my body started speaking in…
Read moreAre You Living Your Life or Just Watching It Pass By?
Are You Living Your Life or Just Watching It Pass By? I stood at my kitchen window last Tuesday morning, coffee in hand, staring at nothing in particular. My wife asked me something, I can’t even remember what, and I realized I’d been somewhere else entirely. Not thinking deep thoughts. Not planning. Just absent. How…
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