Practical traction after a hard hit—field notes and tools for rebuilding without performative positivity
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.
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
Hey there, Standing on the Ledge. How are you today? I haven't posted here in a few days. I've been busy over on the other blog chasing rabbits down holes, following one question into another and generally trying to keep my mind occupied. Sometimes keeping busy is productive. Sometimes keeping busy is just keeping busy. … Continue reading When the Present Starts Feeling Like the Past
Hello there, ledge walkers.I was thinking about yesterday's post, about getting tired of asking people to do things and eventually realizing that chasing other adults has become a job all by itself.And it reminded me of a family story from many, many moons ago.My aunt did not like her kitchen.I don't remember exactly how long … Continue reading Sometimes you Have to Pick up the Sledgehammer!
Today, I Don't Give a Crap Hey there, ledge walkers. How are you all today? I hope you're having a better day than I am. I wasn't sure whether I was going to post this. Part of me thought maybe I should just keep it to myself, let the mood pass, and come back when … Continue reading The Give-a-Crap Tank Is Empty
There comes a point where the tools have to become more than words on a page. I have to be willing to use them on myself. I am tired. Not the satisfying kind of tired that comes after finishing something. This is the sore, restless, frustrated kind of tired where I know I need sleep, … Continue reading When the Rebuild Slips Out of Rhythm: Using Low Capacity Mode
A reflection on Individual and Community Responses to Trauma and Disaster: The Structure of Human Chaos There are some books that teach you something new, and there are others that give a name to something you have already lived through. Individual and Community Responses to Trauma and Disaster: The Structure of Human Chaos, edited by … Continue reading Giving Chaos a Shape
What the Learning Journals Are Teaching Me About Standing on the Ledge When I first started Standing on the Ledge, I thought I was writing about collapse. Honestly, that made sense at the time. Collapse was the thing sitting right in front of me. It was the thing I could feel, the thing I was … Continue reading Learning Why the Ledge Was There
Reader's Moment There is pressure to make recovery look good. To have the lesson ready. To sound wise. To explain the transformation. To be grateful for the wound because it made you stronger. To turn the collapse into a clean story with a satisfying arc. Sometimes that arc exists. Often it does not exist yet. … Continue reading You Do Not Have to Perform Recovery to Be Rebuilding
Reader's Moment There is a moment after pressure hits when life becomes all reaction. Answer the message. Check the account. Explain yourself. Defend yourself. Put out the fire. Apologize. Recalculate. Replay. Brace. You are moving, but not always choosing. That is the difference between reaction and agency. Standing on the Ledge lives in that difference. … Continue reading From Reaction to Agency
