Joyce Juster, M.A.
Licensed Psychologist
To heal is to touch your sorrow and wounds with compassion. Buddha
Introduction
We each matter in this world… though there may be days when we have more of a sense of the truth of that than other days. Sometimes it is as simple as when the sun is shining and we are as clear as a bell as to what our passion is (or are). Other times, just as when the weather appears overcast, we, like the sun, may seem hidden from ourselves. Regardless, though, each of us has gifts, indeed I believe each of us is the gift not only to ourselves but to each other. There is one constant thread that weaves itself through the 26 years I have been an educator, a therapist, a clinical supervisor of other aspiring therapists. And that one thread is the amazing spirit of the individual–of you–that is indomitable, that is always striving toward full self-expression just as any plant is always striving to push through the earth, unfurl its leaves, and open its budding beauty.
You who are reading these words, welcome. You may be of any age, facing a variety of circumstances, being challenged by life to grow, to become who you are meant to be and who, by nature, you already are. You may be an individual wondering about relationships, or a parent wondering about your child or adolescent, or an adolescent wondering about your parents or yourself. You may be wondering why you feel the way you do, or wondering what it is you are actually feeling. You may feel sometimes like you are so very far away from and other times in awe of the mystery of life, of the mystery of simply being. Some of you may be eager to learn about how to truly communicate with another, while some of you may be lamenting that it is nigh impossible and will ever be so. Some of you may feel fettered by guilt or shame and are wondering how to untether yourself from the bruising impact of these emotions. Some of you, through your dreams or prayers or meditations, may have experienced an intimation that you are more than who you think you are, more than your past, more than a fixed persona. Some of you may speak quite harshly to yourself–speak quite harshly at yourself–and may be wondering if it is possible to ever quiet that inner self-critic.
For whatever the reason you have come to this site, welcome. May you find these stories and topics rich with meaning and may they help you as you’d like to integrate your own experiences and history into your life so that you can live your life more fully and with greater satisfaction. These thoughts that you will find on this blog–all of them, are intended in one way or another–to support you on your life’s journey. There is an ancient saying that a load shared by a friend is a load lightened in half. The intention of this blog, the intention of sharing my thoughts, is done so with a loving heart, one that wishes you new-found understanding and wisdom as you wend your ways through these stories and other entries that I share with you.
