Constructive Wallowing
These articles feature the practice of constructive wallowing. Learn more about Tina’s Constructive Wallowing book on Amazon.
Forgiveness Can’t Be Forced
I’m at the self-checkout at the grocery store with my partner, Mike. He passes our rewards card in front of the scanner, and an electronic female voice addresses us. “Welcome, Valued Customer,” she intones, with all the warmth an industrial recording can muster. Mike is disgusted. “Do they really think they can manipulate us with that ‘valued customer’ crap?” He looks at me, expecting agreement. I look back at him sheepishly. “Uh … That makes …
WARNING: Positive Thinking May Be Harmful to Your Health
Are the Feelings Police controlling your mind? You know who they are; whenever you start to feel blue, they show up with their heavy belts and authoritarian attitudes and shout, “Hey, you! Turn that frown upside-down!” It’s a relentless fact of life in these United States of Happiness: Must. Be. Happy. All the time. Most Americans get to take three whole days off work if an immediate family member dies, but that’s it. Then you …
Life’s Not Fair … And That STINKS!
Somewhere in Africa, a gazelle is running for its life, chased by a hungry lion. What are the chances that the gazelle is thinking, “This is SO unfair!”? This may surprise you, but I don’t actually know the answer to that. What I do know is that many people would say, “We should be more like that gazelle; just concentrate on doing what we can, rather than wasting time crying ‘Poor me’!” I disagree! Human …
The positive power of negative affirmations
I enjoy going on long hikes with my partner, Mike. We both love to exercise, and hiking gives us a chance to talk for hours about random things while enjoying Nature. Towards the end of a long hike, or if the trail gets really steep in the middle and we get tired, one of us will say, “Let’s use our affirmation.” And together, we’ll slowly chant in time to our footsteps: “I CAN’T do it. …
Introducing Constructive Wallowing
What is constructive wallowing? It’s being free to feel your emotions, exactly as they are, without fear (unless what you’re feeling is fear. You can’t exactly feel that without fear!). It means protecting your emotional and physical health by bringing some ease and compassion to your daily life. The phrase came to me in the shower one day — that magical place where all great ideas and many not-so-great ones seem to take shape. I …