marshallnlyles

I’ve been thinking about disability advocacy lately, which is an unfortunately necessary calling. I’ll admit my own advocacy style sometimes looks less like a polished campaign and more like a toddler trying to carry too many juice boxes at once. I care deeply, I really do, but I also have a knack for tripping over my own metaphors and accidentally giving a whole lecture on accessibility when someone simply asked where the bathroom was. Still, I keep showing up, because the alternative is...

My daydreams, for years, indulged the fantasy of being granted the superpower of invisibility. That power [invisibility] would bring me safety, control, protection, rest. All in one moment, struggles would be obsolete.  One day, recently, a passing internal question changed the dream. Why had I determined invisibility to be the solution for fear, insecurity, and the need for boundaries? Beliefs began to unravel and reassemble. Dramatically and with some overwhelm. If I get to wish for a...

I love reading about mindfulness more than I love practicing it. Even when I try to notice without judgment, I often end up judging the noticing itself. So I decided to spend a day paying attention to the awkward moments instead — traffic missteps, poorly timed metaphors, and a regrettable gum incident included. What surprised me wasn’t enlightenment, but a gentler relationship with parts of myself I usually critique. Mindfulness, it turns out, doesn’t require grace. It just asks that I notice.