Practical traction after a hard hit—field notes and tools for rebuilding without performative positivity
Catch-22 Tonight I went down one of those little rabbit holes that starts with a simple question and ends somewhere considerably deeper than expected. Where did the phrase Catch-22 actually come from? Most of us know what it means even if we have never read Joseph Heller's novel. A Catch-22 is a situation where the … Continue reading When the Rules Become the Trap
What Silence Hides Content note / disclaimer: This post discusses suicide, grief, and warning signs surrounding the death of a friend. It is a personal reflection based on my own memories and understanding of events, not a clinical assessment of anyone involved and not an attempt to assign responsibility for another person's death. Some details … Continue reading After the Candle
Later today, I am going to light a candle. Brandon “Gypsy” Birch. Brendan Roche. Brendan Myers. Chris Benson. Lisa Rondeau. “Parsnip” Thomas. And there are others whose names I know are there, somewhere in the back of my head, refusing to come forward at this particular moment. That bothers me a little, but perhaps it … Continue reading A Candle for the Unfinished Goodbyes
Hey, Standing on the Ledge. How are y’all today? Today has been a strange mix of victories, frustrations, and the usual business of trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Let’s start with the victory. Organizational Behaviour is officially done. Final weighted grade: 94%. A+. Yay! And I am going to … Continue reading An A+, a Bank, and Another Step Forward
When Everything Is Wearing You Down Hello, Standing on the Ledge. How are we today? I am not having a particularly good mental health day. There really isn't a more elegant way to put it than that. Sleep has been uneven for about the last three weeks. I can't seem to get myself onto anything … Continue reading Today Is Today
Sometimes rebuilding your life means accepting that the old rules belonged to an old situation. Hey there, Ledgewalkers. This is really the second half of what I was talking about earlier, because money isn't the only place where circumstances change and people have trouble adjusting to the new reality. Sometimes what changes is authority. Sometimes … Continue reading You Can’t Keep Partying Like It’s 1999
There comes a point where helping someone stops meaning carrying what they refuse to put down. Hey there, Ledgewalkers. I'm not entirely sure how to word this one, because there is a personal situation sitting underneath it. But the more I look at it, the more I realize that the personal part is almost secondary. … Continue reading The Tools Don’t Work If You Don’t Use Them. Properly That is.
Standing on the Ledge now has 57 subscribers. That is not a huge number by internet standards. Nobody is calling me from a publishing empire, I have not become an influencer, and I am reasonably certain there are house cats with larger online followings. But that number means something to me because this whole thing … Continue reading The Next Step Is Not Another Book
Where Are You on the Ledge? Hey there, ledge walkers. How are you today? I've been thinking about rock bottom again, although I'm beginning to realize that maybe I've been using the wrong words for what happens after it. We tend to talk about rock bottom as though it is a single place. Everything falls … Continue reading Rock Bottom Isn’t Always the Bottom
Well, This Explains a Few Things Apparently I have chased another rabbit. This one did not begin with work, money, relationships, rebuilding my life, or trying to make sense of something that happened to me. It began with four letters, two numbers, a wing, and another pair of letters that looked suspiciously like somebody had … Continue reading ISFP 6w5 so/sp
Standing on the Ledge 