Practical traction after a hard hit—field notes and tools for rebuilding without performative positivity
Morning Ritual — Fir Roots, Squirrel Feet, and Keeping My Words Clean Monday, February 2, 2026 By Kevin McLaughlin / Lugh Sulian Well, welcome back. This is our morning-ritual part of the day, and we’ll do the deeper journal entry later — I’ve got a trip into the big city today for a nerve conduction … Continue reading Understanding Your Spirit Animal: Squirrel Insights
Well, good morning, all. Happy Saint Brigid’s Day to all of my friends who follow Saint Brigid. Warmer days are ahead — and I’m choosing to treat today like a hinge: one season closing, one season trying to open. I’ve been wondering if posts like this belong here on Standing on the Ledge, or if … Continue reading Celebrating Saint Brigid: Tradition and Insights
An Inconvenience Day Good morning, standing on the ledge. Today is one of those weird days where everything feels inconvenient. Not “I’m procrastinating,” not “I’m refusing,” just… inconvenient. Any task I set my mind to feels like it asks more of me than I want to give right now. Writing in my journal. Doing this … Continue reading Understanding the Weight of Inconvenience
Standing on the ledge. This is the part nobody glamorizes. The first three days after something breaks and your old system stops working. I’m writing this like a tutorial, but I’m not writing it like a textbook. I’m writing it the way it actually happens: messy, loud, and full of moments where your brain is … Continue reading The First 72 Hours
The Scene–Signal–Step Protocol (S³) Tagline: Translate social pressure into one clean move. What this tool is The Scene–Signal–Step Protocol is a social-psych “translator.” When I feel spun up by people, systems, or uncertainty, this tool helps me separate what happened from what I think it means, identify the type of threat my brain is reacting … Continue reading Mastering Emotional Responses with the S³ Protocol
Rebuilding the Timeline When Memory Is Chunky Oh, Standing on the ledge, rebuilding from the rubble. This is me continuing the “grand resets / pivot points” thread from yesterday — but this time I’m trying to do something more practical: put scattered memories into a timeline, even when the details are sketchy. I’ve got gaps. … Continue reading Grand Resets & Pivot Points (Part 2)
Hey, and welcome back to Standing on the Ledge. We’re doing another post today—one that’s less about “what happened this week” and more about who I am, and how I got built this way. I started Standing on the Ledge because of a recent collapse: the loss of a contract on December 15, 2025. That … Continue reading Grand Resets: The Pivot Points That Built Me
The Elephant in the Room: “Grumpy,” or Finally Done Carrying It Alone? Hey, welcome back to Standing on the Ledge, Rebuilding from the Rubble. Our story continues. Today I’m talking about the elephant in the room. Lately, I’ve been accused of being grumpy. Maybe I am. Or maybe I’m just fed up. Maybe I’m tired … Continue reading Shared Responsibilities: Unpacking Household Dynamics
Active Avoidance, “Warm Starts,” and the Discipline of Not Hitting Send Hey, and welcome back to Standing on the Ledge, Rebuilding from the Rubble. Our story continues. Today’s entry is a small one, but it’s an honest one: the difference between knowing the tools and actually using them.1 The Driveway Got Done (In Chunks, Like … Continue reading The Importance of Warm Starts in Everyday Tasks
Moon Child, Fir, and the Tower: A Morning Triage Tarot (Jan 27, 2026) Good morning. Coffee. Medication. A couple quiet minutes before the day starts chewing on me. My horoscope for today (Cancer, Tuesday Jan 27) basically said: when things are going well, it shows on my face… and when things are going badly, that … Continue reading Morning Tarot Insights: Navigating Emotional Regulation
Standing on the Ledge 