Wildflower Writes

I didn't really realize the need for peace until I became a parent. The anxiety that accompanies that first bundle of joy can be overwhelming- Is she safe? Is she warm enough? Did she get enough to eat? What is wrong why is she crying I must be a terrible parent she won't ever stop crying! Peace is not only the opposite of anxiety, but it is also the opposite of conflict. If you paid attention in high school English classes, there's seven types of conflict: person vs. self, person vs. person, person vs. supernatural, person vs. nature, person vs. society, person vs. technology, person vs. unknown. That's a lot of potential for fear, pain, anger, and confusion. Which means peace, a simple construct, is often hard to come by. How do you be at peace with yourself, if you're not even sure you like yourself? How do you stay at peace with others, who can be anything from irritating to abusive? How can you know peace when there is so much injustice and destruction in...

It is officially the first day of Spring and I am taking it on as my second New Year. Spring is supposed to be a time of new beginnings , of new growth and turning over new leaves. That is what I’m doing this year. Three weeks ago tomorrow I was let go from my stressful job as an admissions representative for a nursing home. Today I am ready to write a thank you note to the person who gave me the “pink slip.” After the initial shock, I’ve done some evaluating and praying and really feel that God opened the door to a prison cell, and I am FREE! I now sleep better at night, have put away the anti-depressants, have fewer GI problems… Although I hated that job, I didn’t realize what it was doing to me. It was my security blanket , though, and I never would have let go if someone hadn’t wrenched it from my hands. So, I am pursuing my dream as a self-employed, work-from-home, freelance writer . I have several projects in the works already, including a grant, three blogs, a press releas...

At one point in my life, I believed there was no fundamental difference between males and females, with the obvious physical exceptions. I was a 10-year-old feminist. I believed I could play football, excel in math, run fast, become president, and win a fist fight as well as any boy I knew. I rebelled against the idea that my passions and talents might be limited by people who made up arbitrary rules about which sports, activities or classes I could participate in. I still feel the hairs on the back of my neck bristle when people, especially children, are encouraged to behave in a particular way simply due to their gender. Let them play with whatever they want to, whether it’s trucks or dolls or blocks or crayons. Don’t let “boys be boys” and allow rude behavior or destruction. Don’t make girls “act like a lady” and prevent them from playing in dirt or running around. As I grew older, I began to see that there were some general differences between men and women. While I could play foo...

NPR dubbed it Economic Survivor’s Guilt. It’s that deep sense of guilt someone experiences when he or she still has a job, when friends or colleagues do not. It’s not the same as surviving a major event, like the Holocaust or 9/11. After all, these people are still alive. They’re with us every day. They still shop at the grocery store, attend church, and eat at restaurants. They are caring for their children, playing with their dogs, planning trips. Yet when I go to work every day, they have nowhere to go. When I expect a deposit into my bank account every two weeks, they’re hoping to hear from the unemployment office. As I juggle the demands of my boss and co-workers and my own agenda, they are scanning the classifieds and online listings for something that fits. When I complain about the hours or the stress or the unreasonable expectations, they are trying to fill their hours with meaningful things, struggling with their own identity. When I am wishing for a way out of the m...