Mindfulness

Solo-Pilgrimage in Norway: Bee Stings, Solitude, and Connection

Emma Lopez

Jul 244 min read

Solo-Pilgrimage in Norway: Bee Stings, Solitude, and Connection

My hand swells up to twice its size, oozing clear liquid, and i've never felt better. About four days prior, I was traversing the notable...

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Emma Lopez

Jun 25 min read

A Slow Life

I returned from Hawaii a couple months ago and sat down to write about it. I didn't get very far, and left the words to marinate in an...

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Colorful World of Vibrant and Dull Extremes: Finding Balance

Emma Lopez

Jan 284 min read

Colorful World of Vibrant and Dull Extremes: Finding Balance

When I arrived in Wyoming, I fancied vibrant yellows and then deep rusty oranges - the colors of aspen leaves in the fall. For the first...

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To Dwell or Not to Dwell: How Do We Deal with the Emotions of Nostalgia?

Emma Lopez

Jan 24 min read

To Dwell or Not to Dwell: How Do We Deal with the Emotions of Nostalgia?

Nostalgia creeps in like the cold of winter. Slow at first, then one day the icy wall shows up with full force, impossible to ignore....

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How to Become Confident: Through Experience

Emma Lopez

Nov 10, 20224 min read

How to Become Confident: Through Experience

Many people want confidence. Many people wonder why they don’t have it. There are things that I am very confident in, such as leading...

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Get Uncomfortable: How to Get Into Your Growth Zone and Out of Fear

Emma Lopez

Oct 24, 20224 min read

Get Uncomfortable: How to Get Into Your Growth Zone and Out of Fear

There are a lot of things that are scary about life. Everyone has their own personal anxieties, and oftentimes avoidance is how many...

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Autumn in the Mountains: The Complexities of Change

Emma Lopez

Oct 7, 20223 min read

Autumn in the Mountains: The Complexities of Change

I have been seduced by the phenology of quaking aspens. In the winter, they stand softly, white bark against white snow. Their eyes,...

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The Healing Powers of Nature: Feeling Alone

Emma Lopez

Sep 25, 20223 min read

The Healing Powers of Nature: Feeling Alone

Peyton is in 8th grade. Blonde, formidable beauty in her future, remarkably rebellious, sharp as a nail, and tragically wrapped up inside...

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Emma Lopez

May 14, 20225 min read

Kids and Screens: A Reason to Scream

I am walking through the forest with some 6th graders when one exclaims, Wait, these spruce don't look anything like the ones on...

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Self-Soothing: A Necessary Skill to Coping with Life's Challenges

Emma Lopez

Mar 20, 20223 min read

Self-Soothing: A Necessary Skill to Coping with Life's Challenges

Imagine something traumatic has happened to you. Maybe it actually has. We may have a support system - Parents, friends, teachers,...

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Living and Teaching in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Emma Lopez

Mar 12, 20224 min read

Living and Teaching in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

A red shape flashes in the corner of my vision. I turn away from my students, and see a red fox lightly pitter pattering across fresh...

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The Nuances of Cultural Appropriation in Spirituality: Expanding Compassion

Emma Lopez

Feb 1, 20229 min read

The Nuances of Cultural Appropriation in Spirituality: Expanding Compassion

Recently, I started reading a book about spirituality called The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I first discovered this book when I saw a...

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Developing a Morning Routine to Start Your Day Right: 4 Things I Do Everyday

Emma Lopez

Jan 17, 20225 min read

Developing a Morning Routine to Start Your Day Right: 4 Things I Do Everyday

There is not a one-size-fits-all in terms of waking up. It is actually quite simple: You open your eyes, and start your day. How we start...

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Finding Nature’s Power Through Stillness

Emma Lopez

Jan 13, 20226 min read

Finding Nature’s Power Through Stillness

I park my car next to a small snowbank of fresh snow, and see large footprints that head into the forest that start at my car. They...

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Why I Stopped Collecting and How You Can Stop Too

Emma Lopez

Jan 5, 20229 min read

Why I Stopped Collecting and How You Can Stop Too

When I was in elementary school, I had a box containing around 300 gift cards. None of these gift cards ever had any money on them. I...

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New England Suburbia vs. Western Small Town

Emma Lopez

Dec 30, 20216 min read

New England Suburbia vs. Western Small Town

On the drive back from the airport in Boston I stare out the window at all the trees zipping by out the window. On long car rides I used...

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Beating the Holiday Blues by Managing Expectations

Emma Lopez

Dec 21, 20215 min read

Beating the Holiday Blues by Managing Expectations

Twinkling lights wherever you go, holiday desserts, family gathering, gift giving, time off from work - How could one not be happy around...

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Emma Lopez

Dec 10, 20218 min read

Blasé in Beautiful Arches

I planned to visit five national parks this week, and spend every night under the stars. I start to rethink this decision on the second...

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The Materialistic World of the Outdoor Industry

Emma Lopez

Nov 30, 20216 min read

The Materialistic World of the Outdoor Industry

Gear. Gear. Gear! You have it, or you don't. The word itself is so subjective - It can be valued at $5 or $5,000, depending on where you...

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Hiking My Way to Sanity in Franconia, NH

Emma Lopez

Oct 12, 20216 min read

Hiking My Way to Sanity in Franconia, NH

I take deep breaths, half because of physical exertion, and half because the air is dense with the musky-sweet smell of fallen leaves. So...

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