(Fall 2019) Dear Interbeing,
I notice you most when…
- I sit under the trees that are shedding their autumn leaves.
- I mumble into the phone, “I’m okay, mom. I really am. Everything is fine.”
- I go home and see my family pore over old photos from Vietnam strewn across the house, memories coming up when you least expect them to
- I think of taking care of my grandmother—a family display of generational strength and love shifting over time, from birth to illness to death
- I look up at the sky and see the clouds that move across the world, reminding me of the value of the vast Earth under my feet
- I realize the importance of a healthy body mind and body when I am feeling unwell
- an extreme emotion overtakes my rational thought
- I am in a large group of people and we are all doing something individually, but related
- I am on a long slow run processing the contents of my mind.
- I take a moment to honestly answer how I’m doing.
- I read my family’s WeChat group messages.
- I turn myself away from distractions and just sit still and be with myself
Dear Interbeing,
Thank you for helping me to let go, heal, and transform my…
- bitterness to become a more forgiving, gentler person than I was in the past.
- emotional outbursts that would inevitably follow me after bottling up my feelings.
- frustrations from feelings of helplessness into empowerment.
- misunderstandings of the world around me and of myself.
- anger at those who are unaware of the impact of their actions.
- judgement of others when I don’t really know their story.
- my urge to protect myself by building a wall.
- my feelings of fear, anger, anxiety, and despair towards the future.
- stress and tension in my body
- disappointment in myself for all the times I am not mindful and act harmfully towards myself and other beings.
- childhood and adult trauma.
- voice.
Dr. Kathy Yep 