Tag Archives: mental health
FMM 12 5 2025 The Duty of Delight
“Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.” ~ John Ruskin. For those who love Jamaica, but who live in the diaspora, these past four weeks or so have been difficult. While life goes on as usual, there is, always, at the back of one’s mind, at the corner of one’s eye, […]
FMM 6 27 2025 No Excuses!
“It doesn’t take a lot of strength to hang on. It takes a lot of strength to let go.” ~ J. C. Watts. One of the messages that was drilled into me as a child, was to never give up. There were any number of rhymes or quotes to instill perseverance. ‘If at first you […]
FMM 5 23 2025 Secrets and Shame
“What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal.” ~ Friedrick Nietzsche. One of the joys of retirement is that road trips can be the way to get to far distant events. This also means that routines are disrupted, and Friday morning messages are late! Which is the case […]
FMM 5 16 2025 ‘Don’t Stress Me!’
“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” ~ Leo Buscaglia. I migrated to the US in 1978, fresh out of nursing school in the UK (land of my birth), after growing up in Jamaica (land of my rebirth). My boyfriend had moved to Miami, and that was enough […]
FMM 3 14 2025 Holding Space
“… everything on earth can be eliminated under the right conditions.” ~ Louise Erdrich. Some years ago I had an experience which proved invaluable in the classroom: I witnessed a man experiencing the sudden onset of a stroke. We were at a fundraising dance together, he had gone to buy us a drink each, and […]
FMM 11 22 2024 No Time for Tears
“They don’t want to see us uniteAll they want us to do is keep on fussing and fighting.” ~ Robert Nesta Marley. More than 25 years ago, a very close friend of my husband was murdered. In cold blood, in his driveway one morning. He (the friend) had been involved with some unsavory characters and […]
FMM 7 26 2024 Awaking to Presence
“An awareness of one’s mortality can lead you to wake up and live an authentic, meaningful life.” ~ Bernie Siegel. When my father was in his mid-fifties, he had a heart attack. It sneaked up on him, aches and pains in his left shoulder, that he ascribed to driving up and down the winding country […]
FMM 2 2 2024 Community Health
‘Lean on me, when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on…For it won’t be long, ‘til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.’ ~ Bill Withers. My professional introduction to mental health began in nursing school. I was assigned to an inpatient facility which was housed in a beautiful […]
FMM 8 6 2021 Twist and Shout
“Stories teach us empathy. They reveal to us ourselves in the skins of others.” ~ Justin Simien. Last week, in the middle of a Zumba session, the music changed from a Latin focus to good old-fashioned rock and roll. Soon we were rocking around the clock and twisting the night away. I remembered that before […]
FMM 6 25 2021 That’s Insane!
“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” ~ Allen Ginsberg. When I was growing up in Chapelton, Jamaica, there was a man from the area who was considered mad. It was fairly obvious, as he could be seen from time to time hitting his head against light poles. Of course, since we couldn’t understand […]
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