Thomas Ramey Watson

anxiety

The opportunity to fail–the best gift we can give our children

Mo Issa writes: My parents gave me love, and lots of it, but often faltered in giving me direction. However, the best gift they gave me was the opportunity to fail, and then learn from those failures. That opportunity not only made me stronger, but also instilled in me a sense of responsibility and independence …

The opportunity to fail–the best gift we can give our children Read More »

Surviving the holidays after we’ve broken up with our mothers.

This article is by Justin Haley Phillips and centers on a woman’s view, but I know from personal experience that men sometimes have to break up with their mothers too. If a parent is so toxic that you can no longer have contact, then you must distance yourself, female or male. –Thomas Ramey Watson Phillips …

Surviving the holidays after we’ve broken up with our mothers. Read More »

How To ‘Break Up’ With A Narcissistic Parent

“Realizing and accepting that you have one or more narcissistic parents is a long and intensely painful road,” Julie L. Hall told HuffPost. “That’s because children, even adult children, continue to desire love and approval, often against all reason.” Ultimately, asserting low or no contact with a narcissist parent can be a healthy, liberating choice. …

How To ‘Break Up’ With A Narcissistic Parent Read More »

Who Gets to Choose Which Childhood Experiences Are ‘Appropriate’?

Fom Christina Berchini’s thoughtful article: Hard as some parents and guardians might try to shield their children from life’s difficulties and cruelties, other students bring adult issues to our classrooms. I certainly did. My students certainly did. An “appropriate” text, then, is also a text that honors this reality. Students who see their experiences ― …

Who Gets to Choose Which Childhood Experiences Are ‘Appropriate’? Read More »

Earthquakes, hurricanes, drought, flooding, and fire

No matter what the media or your friends and family are telling you, we are at the threshold of our own man-made “hell,” and the Devil Winds are here to remind us that no one is immune. Earthquakes, hurricanes, drought, flooding, and fire—we are spiritually, morally, and physically out of balance. The winds are a …

Earthquakes, hurricanes, drought, flooding, and fire Read More »

The Fundamentalist Christian Chokehold On America

The fundamentalist chokehold on American politics seeks to destroy the religious and cultural plurality on which the country, and the Declaration of Independence, was based. These theological divisions – which pit believers against non-believers, and those who believe correctly against those who don’t – are a major contributor to America’s sharply divided politics. When someone …

The Fundamentalist Christian Chokehold On America Read More »