Resistance is the force within us that pushes back against what we do not want to see, hear, or feel. It rises when an idea challenges the stories we have constructed about ourselves and the world—when something knocks against the fragile architecture of our beliefs, threatening to dismantle what we have carefully arranged. Recalcitrance, its close companion, is the deep-seated refusal to move, to yield, to even entertain the possibility that another truth exists beyond our own.

There are moments in life when words cannot reach the place inside us that aches. When the pain becomes so vast, so consuming, that silence becomes the only language left to speak. But even in silence, something waits—something holy, something true, something aching to be met with love.

And yet, when we speak truth, when we hold it up to the light, something shifts.

Truth makes space for understanding.

Understanding makes space for healing.

And healing, when it is real, does not erase the wound—it transforms it.

But one thing remains clear:

Stories matter.

Telling the truth matters.

And when someone bares their soul, the only answer—the only one that will ever matter—is to listen.

"I hope we weren’t disturbing you," she said, almost hesitantly. "We can be a bit much. We both have ADHD."

She introduced the younger woman as her granddaughter. I smiled, telling her I had enjoyed their laughter, that their joy had been a lovely thing to witness. I looked at her granddaughter and told her how lucky she was to have her grandmother, how I had cherished mine and still missed her deeply.

The woman nodded, but I could sense something lingering beneath her words. I asked her why she thought they were disturbing me.

The civil commitment process does not operate on an individual’s lived experience, emotions, or truth. It operates on a story—a carefully constructed narrative written by those in power. The psychiatrist, the social worker, the court evaluator—each plays a role in crafting an official account, one that transforms a person from an autonomous individual into a psychiatric subject.

The foundation of depression, possible thoughts of suicide, panic attacks, anxiety and stress we feel when our Authentic Self/Heart/Soul/Spirit begins to emerge and an internal struggle is initiated as it pushes against man-made constructs of what is termed “consensus” reality or what we have come to believe is the real world based on the artificial constructs all around us. This angst and upheaval is no longer solely found in the proverbial “mid-life” wake-up call, but now extends ever more deeply into all age groups.

In the quiet moments of dawn, as the first light of day begins to weave its golden threads through the tapestry of night, there lies an invitation to reflect deeply on our way of knowing. This sacred reflection beckons us to journey inward, to become conscious of the underlying beliefs that shape our perceptions, decisions, and actions in the world. To unwrap the stories we have been told that bind us and to release stories that no longer serve our evolutionary path of enlightenment by shedding light on beliefs and stories that create blockages that starve us of our freedom and joy. It is an invitation to awaken to the profound interconnectedness of all life, to honor the wisdom that flows through us, and to align our actions with our deepest values and truths.