Some years ago in the midst of a rather dark time, I found my perception of self worth markedly low. The usual methods of therapy—writing, meditation, exercise—were not working so I decided instead to ‘walk’ my thoughts to their shadowy destination on an extended bus and train trip. I figured if I simultaneously viewed the […]
Author Archives: Jo-Ann Svensson
The Remembered Dance: Acts of Courage or Betrayal?
Was this a betrayal, or was it an act of courage? Perhaps both. Neither one involves forethought: such things take place in an instant, in an eyeblink. This can only be because they have been rehearsed by us already, over and over, in silence and darkness; in such silence, such darkness, that we are ignorant […]
Fixing Family Dynamics
It is interesting how the process of trying to fix family dynamics usually backfires. Here’s my most recent example. An aged member of my family has profound hearing loss and a tendency, as the years go by, to personalize things rather morosely. The former condition has him missing out on the mundane conversations that make […]
The Human Dance
He walked up to me as I sat on the bench, enjoying the sun and the people watching. He was a thin man — “all bones” mom would say — wearing loose, well-worn clothes, dirty sneakers and a baseball cap. His movements were jerky, like those of a marionette’s puppet, and they accentuated his angular […]
Choice
As a teacher of interdependence (and codependence) I believe that while interdependence is based on respect, mutuality and self leadership, it is fundamentally about choice. In interdependence, I choose to involve myself in life and I choose to manifest my creativity rather than following the dictates of default living. Said another way, it is about […]