The Phrase That Will Revolutionize How You Handle Conflict
Have you ever experienced someone putting words into your mouth? Or assuming you did something just to annoy them? How about the other way around? Do you ever assume things about others? When we are in the middle of conflict we are often instinctively defensive of ourselves and sometimes that natural instinct can lead to […]
My Wall of Peace
This post was originally written in June 2018. I learned about Sister Norma Pimentel today. She is a recipient of the 2018 Laetare Medal; a prestigious award she received in recognition of her efforts to advocate for migrants and refugees she has encountered in her work near the United States-Mexico border. She was in the […]
How to Become an Empathetic Listener
Empathy is one of the most important skills we can develop in ourselves and in our children. It helps us build more positive relationships because we have a better understanding of one another and an appreciation for different perspectives. Brené Brown, author and research professor University of Houston, describes empathy as, “the skill set to […]
Three Mindfulness Practices for Stronger Relationships
It’s the little things. Your child gets you out of bed thirty minutes before your alarm goes off. The car won’t start. You forgot about an important deadline at work. You don’t have time to make dinner, and your kids won’t eat it when you do. Suddenly, someone says one more thing out of line […]
How Restorative Justice Changed My Parenting and Teaching
As a parent and an educator when dealing with a child who has done something wrong, my first response was to consider the rule that was broken and how to prevent that behaviour from occurring again. Many times, whatever the child was doing would stop, for a while. However, I became increasingly frustrated with the […]
Two Practical Ways to Build Emotional Intelligence
When someone asks you how you’re doing, do you ever respond with an automatic “good” or “fine” out of habit? It’s something most of us do from time to time. We often don’t think about how we are feeling and how it impacts the way we interact with others. The truth is, however, the way […]
Be the Drop
Recently, I was facilitating a conflict resolution training with high school leadership students, where we talked about strategies for listening, responding when we’ve hurt someone, and managing conflict in difficult situations. At the end of the workshop, a few students came up to me and shared, “I can’t believe I’ve never learned this before! Our […]
