MIKAH BLOG
17 Years of Hardship
"By the time I was nine years old, I was experiencing depression and did not know it. It came to a point that every little thing stressed me". "I was overly sensitive to criticism, and this is how I embarked into my teenage years. At this point, the relationship with my parents was completely absent."
Lessons Learned from Loretta
Loretta took time-out, a year and a half of self-discovery. Time-outs are hard. They involve patience, devotion, commitment, and Loretta had it all. I can’t even think about putting myself in time-out for days, and I am in awe of her commitment to herself, to self-discovery and self-improvement.
Getting my Sh*t Together by 60
My brother died for no good reason. He touched the truck and got electrocuted. He was not there to save anyone. There was no heroic act, just a simple accident that took his life. It was time to accept it for what it was. I had found a newspaper clipping; I had it in my possession the entire time, but I didn’t read or internalize the facts. It was so much easier to tell an incredible story of heroism, in order to make the loss less devastating.
Lessons from Satine Phoenix
I always say that the difference between the survivor and the thriver is mainly that the thriver is a giver. They take what broke them to help others, and there is no question that Satine is a thriver. Satine found her Ikigai.
“You have no power over me.” - Movie: Labyrinth (1986)
"Sometimes, we have to hit rock bottom in order to catapult ourselves out of the breakage. It is so scary. She hopes that she can create a platform for those with similar backgrounds and similar interests so they can be a family, a community of support while they all add gold to their breaks."
Lessons from Ashley
When you see someone with some kind of difference, don’t assume you know what happened to them, what they need or don’t need, and what you can or cannot say. I thought that Ashley had lost an arm, but she was born this way. We never know what a person went through and what caused their situation.
What People Take for Granted
My parents knew they were expecting twins. After an ultrasound, the doctors told them there was something wrong with twin A. They would only know more after birth. After all, this was over 24 years ago and technology wasn't what it is today.
I was twin A.
A Fierce Story of Perseverance from Cathy
One miscarriage is enough to break someone. After the cancer treatment, she had two miscarriages, but she continued. Cathy did this because she had a dream, and she was not taking no for an answer.
Take aways from Lisa King's Kintsugi Story
"I understand the angst, the “what ifs,” and the fear of necessary lifestyle changes. Frankly, what I remember most is the exhaustion. This exhaustion stems from worry and being so vigilant with every dollar spent. It is the sense of being so limited all the time."
A Difficult Time in the Financial Downturn Creates Growth
"The value of the home continued dropping and dropped over 1 million dollars during this time period."
Learning from Madeleine's Kintsugi Story
If you let go of anger, you open the door to joy. This happened when she could think about her circumstances in a more empathetic way. She began understanding a bit of the other side. Madeleine grasped that these men were not born evil, that at some point they were innocent babies. Something awful must have happened to them to turn them into rapists, and she could actually feel compassion and empathy.
From Innocent Joy to Tragedy
I spent a month in a juvenile psychiatric hospital, and after that I was back to my awful behavior. I drank. I did drugs. I was promiscuous, because I did not believe I could say no. I did not love myself, nor did I believe that anyone ever could. You see, I thought I was dirty and broken forever.