Chad Grayson

Chad Grayson

Belonging

I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, and it’s led me to a revelation. I love Brown’s work as a researcher, how she explicates our inner emotional landscapes and describes how our inner needs drive us. I don’t always agree 100% with her definitions, but she always gives me something to think about. Anyway, Atlas of the Heart is an attempt to map and

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Things it took me way too long to learn

Life lessons. We’ve all experienced them. It takes some of us a little longer than others to learn certain things, and I am no exception. So here are some lessons I didn’t learn until I’d been beaten over the head with them a couple of times. 1.  If I’m going to remember something, I’m going to have to write it down. I don’t know how many times I had to

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Equanimity (or, the subtle art of not losing your shit)

The last two weeks has been incredibly difficult. I had a lot going on anyway, but then my son moved in with me. That wasn’t a bad thing, but he’s nineteen. And on top of the usual 19-year-old nonsense, he’s been on and off his meds and has been yo-yo-ing through various stages of a mental health crisis and the whole things has just been exhausting. Every day I do

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Strength

The other day, my BFF Nick and I were talking about writing and, specifically characters. And somehow, we got on the topic of strong characters., and it made me think about what makes a strong character, how you tell if you’ve written one, and how you might go about defining that for yourself.  This led me to think about strength in general, and what made up a strong person in

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How to get things done when your brain is an asshole

              Getting things done has always been a struggle for me. I have pretty intense adhd and keeping up with things has been difficult. I spent years trying to write books and not being able to, years trying to keep up with housework and home improvement products and getting halfway through and just … not finishing. My life was chaos.               But somewhere in the last three years or so,

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Mindfulness

              I got sick of looking at myself and decided to get serious about doing something about my weight, so I joined Noom. Because I am pre-diabetic, it was even covered by my insurance. Well, it’s been a week, and it wasn’t exactly easy, but it feels doable. I have even lost 5.5 pounds. I know it’s not healthy to continue losing at that pace, but it was nice to

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Taking stock at 49

              Today was my 49th birthday. There were times, over the years, when I didn’t think I would make it to this age. I couldn’t imagine getting here without having killed myself. But I am here, and I am happy, and this provides a convenient moment to take stock.               My relationships with my family members have never been better. I have no secrets form them, not anymore. I am

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