writer. traveller. life unraveller.
The current chaos of the world right now is hard to see, to feel, to reconcile. It’s beyond tragic. There’s rage, empathy, pity, and deep sadness. There’s shame, too. Shame about the ways we ignore, reject, keep silent either outwardly or inwardly. About the ways we’ve either directly or indirectly contributed to suffering––our own or... Continue Reading →
Last week, I went to the hospital for some minor tests, and as I sat waiting for the doctor, I started feeling a bit sorry for myself. For recent events and for the dreaded impending blood samples about to be extracted from my plump, juicy vein via a most hated hoojie––a needle. I watched an... Continue Reading →
One of the travel questions I always get asked, especially by women who haven’t visited the tropics, is how I deal with scary things like giant cockroaches or spiders. The short answer is, I don’t really. I have no method, other than to hope I’m not confronted with one, and when (never if) I... Continue Reading →
I have a favourite breakfast spot in Chiang Mai. As we’ve been living out of a kitchenless hotel/guesthouse for the past few months, I’ve been forced to obtain sustenance in restaurants in lieu of making my own meals. Hard life, right? I actually inwardly complained about it at first, until I realized how nice it... Continue Reading →
Click play to hear the audio version. In my blog, What I Learned From a Balinese Healer, I told the story about meeting Cokorda Rai, a well-known healer in Ubud, and Ketut, a young man introduced to us by a friend. While both experiences were insightful the main realization I had was that pain can... Continue Reading →
I read somewhere recently, “promote what you love rather than bash what you hate.” We become what we focus our attention on after all. So rather than be angry with a man who deserves every ounce of my viciousness, I instead choose to be grateful for what a year with him has taught me about... Continue Reading →
On the final day of Thai massage school, four of us listened as our teacher talked about herbal medicine for treating common ailments. “How do you treat heartache?” One woman asked. She’d recently broken up with her partner over the course of our ten-week training. His name was still scrawled in ink on the top of her... Continue Reading →
colleen thornton 