in pieces
We may not always have the proper words to go with our inner pain, but we can still mend and heal the parts of us that become inexplicably b
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Ilan Cooley
- May 6
- 2 min
old me
There’s a stigma about getting old, but I think people are getting it wrong. We are not actually growing old, we are growing new.
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Ilan Cooley
- Mar 25
- 2 min
enough
I ask myself, will this use of my time make me happy? Will it help me to feel fulfilled? Will it be time well spent?
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Ilan Cooley
- Feb 27
- 2 min
house of mirrors
The parts of us that people see impacts how we are perceived. This fragmented reality, based on imperfect moments, is inherently flawed....
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Ilan Cooley
- Feb 12
- 1 min
strong
Can we be strong if we are also fragile? If we are prone to breaking, will it be too easy to be completely shattered? We equate strength...
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Ilan Cooley
- Nov 10, 2023
- 2 min
honest, good, and real
Someday I will stop writing about isolation, but not today… In a lot of ways my journey through solitude continues. I’m alone less, but...
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Ilan Cooley
- Oct 23, 2023
- 2 min
old
I long for things that are old—things with a past. Things with character, and a story—things that are built to last. I am drawn to things...
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Ilan Cooley
- Oct 10, 2023
- 2 min
dust
Someone came into my house and ran their fingers over my furnishings, leaving little snail trails in the dust that had settled. It felt...
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Ilan Cooley
- Sep 25, 2023
- 2 min
garbage
Someone once told me when they looked at the world, they saw garbage. It was a jarring revelation—something I could not myself envision....
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Ilan Cooley
- Aug 28, 2023
- 3 min
toothpaste
Life is like a tube of toothpaste. It’s hard to squeeze the last bit out. Sometimes it feels like we are on the outside squeezing the...
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Ilan Cooley
- Jun 21, 2023
- 3 min
soul-o
soul-o I am constantly being forced into solitary situations, and I don’t really understand why. After glimpses of normal socialization...
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Ilan Cooley
- Jun 7, 2023
- 2 min
flourish
I stopped to look at a tree. I walk past it often, but this time it stretched out its branches like a warm embrace, and fluttered its...
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Ilan Cooley
- May 15, 2023
- 2 min
life on ice
It takes time to adjust to a new season, both figuratively and literally. I feel like we’ve come through a bit of a deep freeze; a long,...
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Ilan Cooley
- Apr 19, 2023
- 2 min
marked safe
Life can be hard sometimes. Even though there is so much to be thankful for, and many good things and positive people in the world,...
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Ilan Cooley
- Mar 27, 2023
- 2 min
crouching gopher, hidden cobra
I am, at times, a coiled cobra, ready to strike. After too much time in the snake charmer’s basket, I can no longer resist the seductive...
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Ilan Cooley
- Jan 30, 2023
- 2 min
jack in the box
I turn the crank and it plays a silly song. Even though you know what’s about to happen, it’s still a bit startling when the lid springs...
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Ilan Cooley
- Dec 5, 2022
- 2 min
arrival
In order arrive somewhere new, we have to leave the place we were. This rings true as I reflect on a year of change and reinvention. I...
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Ilan Cooley
- Nov 21, 2022
- 2 min
fitting in
Life is an ongoing sequence of attempts to make things fit. We try to fit in with multiple kinds of people, places and things, hoping for...
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Ilan Cooley
- Oct 20, 2022
- 2 min
jigsaw
Life can be…well…puzzling. It’s like a giant, complicated jigsaw puzzle. Just when we think we have it figured out, we realize we don’t....
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Ilan Cooley
- Oct 3, 2022
- 2 min
love yourself first
We are told to put on our own oxygen mask before helping others in case of an emergency. It is a logical step, but is hard to remember in...
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