inner-work
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The Photo That Started It All
Back in 2007, I finally treated myself to a digital camera. I’d been saving up for it forever, and when I got that little Fujifilm FinePix A600 digital camera in my hands, it felt like holding a tiny key to a secret world. I still have it, and yes… I still use it. That camera Continue reading
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The Power and Paradox of Noticing: An INFJ Perspective
I’ve always noticed the things most people don’t. The tiny shifts in someone’s tone, that half second hesitation before a word is spoken, the invisible rhythm in a room the second someone walks in. These details, so easily ignored, are like neon signs to me. My brain maps them without me even thinking about it, Continue reading
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Breath of Ink
Ink becomes my breath, between the dust and the stars I dissolve in thought. Continue reading
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Bracing For Fall
When I was little, every season in Washington carried its own kind of magic. Summer was blackberry stained fingers and stubborn sunsets that lingered long after bedtime. Spring was cherry blossoms scattered across wet sidewalks, tulips rising out of soggy earth. Winter was snow on the Cascades, holiday lights against dark evergreens, breath curling white Continue reading
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A Day at the Lake: Summer Stillness at Fort Steilacoom
Some days just ask you to slow down. Not because you’re tired or overwhelmed, but because the air feels different. Softer. That was today. Chewy and I went for a walk at Fort Steilacoom Park, one of those places that always helps me come back to myself. The breeze was light, the sun was warm Continue reading
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Jodi Arias: The Horrible, Twisted Shadow INFJ
Disclaimer I want to be crystal clear before we begin: I do not support, excuse, or justify what Jodi Arias did. Her actions were horrific and inexcusable. This piece is a reflection on the darkest corners of the INFJ personality -the shadow self – and how, in rare and tragic cases, it can twist into Continue reading
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Cleansed: A Meditative Water Journey
Filmed in black and white, Cleansed is a meditation on renewal. It begins with light, with dryness, with restraint. And slowly, quietly, it unfolds into something softer, wetter, and more vulnerable. The water falls not just on my skin, but through the layers of armor we so often wear in this world. As the droplets Continue reading
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No Vacations, No Retirement —Just Grit and Grace
I grew up in what my mother called “working poor.” It wasn’t a label we wore publicly. It was just… life. At first, I thought we were like everyone else. I thought soup kitchens were just another kind of restaurant. I thought thrift stores were where everyone got their clothes. I thought rich meant your Continue reading
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The People and Forces I Look to for Guidance
List the people you admire and look to for advice… In life, we often find ourselves seeking wisdom, understanding, and direction from those who have shaped us, whether they are people, moments, or even invisible forces. For me, my guidance comes from a combination of both tangible and intangible sources that help me navigate the Continue reading
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Surprise! I Finally Got My Hair Done—And It Felt Like Coming Back to Life
It’s wild how much we can put off when we’re just trying to survive. For me, something as simple as a hair appointment slowly became this massive emotional hurdle. I hadn’t been to a real salon since before my mom passed away—over 4.5 years ago. And then, earlier this year, I had surgery, which took Continue reading
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Dear INFJ: Letter #3 – You Were Never Meant to Be Small
Dear INFJ, You’ve spent so much of your life folding yourself into quieter versions of who you are. You learned how to dim your light, not because it wasn’t bright, but because it made others squint. You learned how to carry other people’s pain without them even asking, like it was your job, your purpose, Continue reading
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The Inheritance of Ash and Earth
I was born from ruin, from hunger,a child of sorrow stitched from the remnants of history,woven together with the thread of survival.From the bones of a world broken and reformed,I rose, carrying the weight of two broken pastsand the hope of something that could heal the cracks between them.A body made from ghosts,an echo of Continue reading
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Becoming Me: Embracing Adventure, Freedom, and the Vibrancy of Life
For as long as I can remember, I lived cautiously, almost mechanically. My decisions, my actions, my very way of being, everything was shaped by an invisible, yet very real, wall of fear and responsibility. A wall I didn’t know I had built, but one that was firmly in place, holding me back from the Continue reading
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Woven in Black: The Threads of Trust
I stand in a small, dimly lit room, surrounded by mismatched chairs and the smell of coffee and incense.The gentle rhythm of a bongo drum hums in the background. I’m dressed in all black, the fabric heavy against my skin, but I feel light, as if the beat is carrying me forward. It’s my turn Continue reading
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A Portrait of Light: Painting Myself Into the Aurora
There is something about the aurora that feels like a language I almost understand. It moves with a kind of knowing, a silent rhythm written in color, never still, never fully graspable, yet undeniably real. It exists in the space between darkness and light, between earth and sky, between what is seen and what is Continue reading
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Half of Me
There’s a half of me I keep in shadows,tucked beneath the surface where no one sees.A quiet hum of longing, a melody unsung,a bridge that spans the distance between who I amand who I might have been. Half of me craves roots,anchored in the soil of certainty,nurtured by stability,while the other halfdreams of flight—windswept freedom,the Continue reading
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The beauty of the small things: embracing the hidden depths of everyday life
There’s a quiet magic in the world that most people overlook, the kind of beauty that doesn’t shout to be seen, but quietly whispers to those who know how to listen. It’s in the warmth of the sun on your face as you step outside in the morning, the way the breeze dances gently through Continue reading
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The Home I Carry With Me
Home. It’s a word that holds so much meaning. For years, I thought it was simply a place like the house I grew up in, the rooms that felt familiar, the roof that kept everything out. I thought it was a fixed thing, a physical space that defined where I belonged. But over time, I’ve Continue reading
The Dreamer's Pen 