Cindy MacFarlane Mental Health Counseling Solutions

09/06/2025

09/06/2025

A great perspective for anyone wishing to shift their perspective…

I heard something today that felt like someone quietly rearranged the furniture in my soul.

Gabor Maté, in a conversation with Mel Robbins on her podcast, said:
“No two children grow up in the same home. Even with the same parents.”

And he’s right.
By the time each child is born, the people raising them have already changed.
A father may be softer now, or more guarded.
A mother may be freer, or more worn.
The marriage may be blooming… or quietly cracking.
Money might be scarce, or finally enough to breathe.

And then there’s *us*—the children.
We come with different hearts, different fears, different ways of hearing the same words.
One child feels loved in the quiet; another feels abandoned in it.
One thrives under structure; another wilts.
The same hug, the same house, the same parents—yet completely different worlds.

It made me think about the stories we carry.
How we assume we all lived the same childhood because we shared a roof.
But we didn’t.

We were each raised by a different version of our parents… a version shaped by time, by trials, by joy, by fatigue.

And maybe part of growing up - truly growing up - is making peace with this.
To forgive the versions of our parents who couldn’t give more.
To honor the versions who somehow gave anyway.
And to understand that the love was real, even when it looked nothing alike.

Because you see, love isn’t static.
It’s a living thing, it's changing, faltering and blooming; just like the people who give it.

Here’s my video reflection and excerpts of the interview: https://youtube.com/shorts/l3NUPuoX5AM

09/01/2025

Say what you want but I have a system.

07/29/2025

07/23/2025

😅 “Is everything about to fall apart? Or is it just Tuesday?”

Me: I’m fine.
Also me: Startles when someone opens a bag of chips too loudly.
🫠 Can’t make phone calls without rehearsing them like a TED Talk.
📦 Keeps every empty Amazon box “just in case.”
🧨 Emotionally shuts down when someone says “Can we talk?”

Yeah. You’re not dramatic.
You’re just… layered.

✨ Here’s the thing:
Trauma isn’t always one big moment.
Sometimes it’s a lifetime of micro-glitches that taught your nervous system to expect impact—even in calm.
And now you're out here trying to regulate while also figuring out dinner and why that text sounded passive-aggressive.

You're not broken.
You're just brilliant at surviving.

💬 Tag a friend who’s thriving and accidentally ducking every time someone drops a spoon.

07/12/2025

Waves are inspiring not because they rise and fail, but because each time they fall. They never fail to rise again.

Josh Billings

07/11/2025

Sheleana Aiyana / Rising Woman

07/03/2025

03/08/2025

NEVER!! 😂😂