Live and Learn New Mexico!

Simone Biles, gymnast extraordinaire, didn't go to the Olympics to win. She didn't even go to compete. She went to share an important message.  Soon after her arrival to Japan, she made it clear that she was not going to fight through the mental and emotional pain she has long suffered in order to compete. She is not going to worry that she won't win. The message I am getting from all this is that it isn't important to win. Winning won't make you happy. Life is more meaningful than that.  Simone went to the Olympics to heal -- herself and others who suffer anxiety from the very thing they once found peace doing.  She wants to show that we need to support each other and celebrate the healing that gymnastics and other physical activities can provide.   Perhaps the Olympics could change. Instead of honoring the winners of a sport, we honor the sport itself and its healing powers. We share best practices. I believe, too, that Simone is one of many light ...

When I was a kid in elementary school, I talked with my Catholic best friend about suicide. I don't know why we talked about such a heavy subject at that tender age but I do remember her telling me that her church believed that the act of suicide was a sin. I wondered why someone would be punished for this sin. Would knowing it is a sin really deter anyone who was thinking of ending their life? I couldn't believe it would.  In 1980, the Church admitted that there was a mental health component to suicide. Society in general tends to tie suicide to depression and anxiety. We think there is something wrong with a suicidal person. We don't consider that perhaps the suicidal person is just as sane as anyone; they just see the Universe in a more inclusive way and understand that perhaps committing suicide is just moving on.  I'm proposing that it is actually sanity in a way, that suicidal people are just tired of this existence. They know there are other existences. We think ...

2020 was the year that challenged us all in many many many ways. If there were one word that comes up a lot when I think of the year, it is loneliness. I was incredibly lonely. There were other factors besides the virus that contributed to my loneliness. I live in a rural area. My family had moved out of my place just before the virus struck, leaving me alone. I had no car to escape to town just to get out and about. The virus dramatically exacerbated the lonely feeling. There were times that I even considered ending it all and moving on to a more peaceful existence.  I know I was not the only one who felt so lonely. On the last day of January this year, my nephew's son Donovan, feeling profoundly lonely and depressed, took his own life. I have been thinking about him every day since.  For my own depression, I've found that having something to work on, especially something that helps others, helps me deal. Donovan's mom, Misty, is also like that. She started a Facebook page...