Category Archive

Philosophy

Not everything on Offbeat Home centers around the physical. Sometimes being an Offbeat Homie is all about the mindset.

Radical accountability: Holding yourself responsible so you can hold yourself POWERFUL

Here’s the thing about blaming others: it might feel sort of good for a moment, but ultimately when you hold yourself accountable for your choices, you regain a sense of agency and power. When you blame others, you’re trading responsibility for power… and I truly believe we all want to feel more powerful.

How community theater changed my life

One day in fall 2010, my roommate Grace turned to me and asked if I wanted to audition with her for an all-female Shakespeare troupe she had found advertised on Craigslist. I immediately said yes. I had no idea then that that one “yes” would end up changing my life…

Two years of two-word resolutions

Last year, my two-word New Year’s resolution was simply FEEL LOVED… which was oddly terrifying. How can two words be so difficult?

And oof, wait until you hear my two words for this year…

Turning future desires into present contentments

Where are my fellow discontents? My fellow day-dreamers and strategizers and ladder climbers? This post is for you, my fellow folks who spend your days up in your heads, dreaming and scheming about how things would or could be better if you only had this, or if you only did that, or if this thing was different or that thing was changed.

Individuation: stumbling toward emotional self-reliance

Maybe the most obvious way to talk about individuation is to say that, in the context of my marriage, if there was a bad feeling, I would look to my spouse to help me with it. Over the years, this mean that basically I held him at least partially responsible for my sense of well-being. Then, suddenly, my sense of well-being was very much my responsibility alone… and ultimately, it always was.

Running as metaphor: how suffering shapes your perception of life and how you can use it to grow

I listened to a podcast on my run the other day about purpose, perseverance, and the close connection that exists between passion and suffering. The magic that happens when you embrace suffering and seek the impossible. To be willing to suffer for the things you’re passionate about. So that podcast led me to thinking about suffering in all its forms and whether it can be turned into a growing experience…

When it comes to harassment and abuse, are internal investigations enough?

In the cases of Catfish’s Nev Schulman and AMC’s Chris Hardwick, each men got “justice” via internal investigations from their respective large media companies. It seems that this is enough for a lot of people to accept their innocence after being accused of sexual harassment. But is justice from a self-serving legal team in a huge company REALLY justice?

Looking inward teaches me to accept myself as I am

Looking inward teaches me to accept myself as I am

During yoga last night, I was instructed to look inward, to close my eyes and only see myself. To look inward toward myself for satisfaction. I spent the entire hour with my eyes closed just doing what felt right in my body and not trying to compete with the girl on the mat next to me. That simple choice to keep my eyes closed and look inward was incredibly awakening. It inspired me.