Practices for Recovering Resilience
Helping Kids Embrace Their “Otherness”
Maybe because I woke up one morning last week to an air quality rating of 249, officially “very unhealthy” and couldn’t see to the end of my block because of the smoke from the still-raging wildfires here in northern California, I went looking for encouraging news about resilience and people helping other people be resilient. […]
Tara Brach on Strengthening Connection in Relationships
The uncertainty of the pandemic can be hard to live with. Stress and fear can often put a strain on relationships. And it can be challenging to remain open and accepting when a relationship starts to falter. Any worries, insecurities, defensiveness can keep people tapped in a cycle of feeling alone and misunderstood. Mindfulness is […]
Mastery as Motivation for Resilience
Coincidentally last week, I discovered research that psychologist Dr. Ann Masten had done years ago on cultivating a sense of mastery as a significant motivator in developing resilience in children on the same day that Heather Daly sent me an email grateful for the practicality of some of the resources in Resilience for her Courageous […]
Free Guided Practice: Identifying Traits/Symbols of Resilience
We all need to know what traits of resilience we already have and to claim ourselves as resilient when we exhibit those traits. This double-awareness strengthens our resilience and nourishes our sense of self as someone who is and can be resilient. This 3.5 minutes video leads you through two exercises from Resilience 2.0 in […]
9/11 – Trauma Then and Now
A somewhat heavy post on a somewhat heavy day, yet still offering resources to recover our resilience. Today is the 19th anniversary of 9/11 – the anniversary of a day that sent shock waves throughout the world, killing 2,977 people in New York City, launching a war that has killed 50,000 more in the Middle […]
Ten Keys to Everyday Anti-Racism
From my inbox to yours, literally. A clear program of ten steps in a 30-day anti-racism challenge posted two days ago by Greater Good Science Center at University of California-Berkeley. Ten Keys to Everyday Anti-Racism has been developed by Kirsten Ivey-Colson and Lynn Turner, co-founders of The Anti-Racist Table; you can read the entire article […]
Tara Brach’s timely message on letting go of self-judgement
Self-judgement derails an inner sense of well-being, resilience, and healthy relationships for most of us. Especially in current times when it’s so easy not to know what to do…about anything. Here’s the link to a timely message from Tara Brach, psychologist and one of the most beloved mediation teachers on the planet. (My clients quote […]
Anchors Rather than Answers
No one knows for sure when this pandemic will be over. When it will be safe to eat out, get your hair cut, visit friends without masks, attend a live football game or a live concert, when students can sit in a classroom with fellow students again. For some, coping with so many uncertainties and […]
Labor Day – Deeply Respecting the Resilience of Our Workers
Today is Labor Day in the United States, a national holiday created 125 years ago to honor the struggles of working class people to unionize and earn a decent living, to gain a fair wage and stable employment, to be treated with dignity and respect for their hard work that keeps us all afloat. That […]
Trees – the Iconic Metaphors for Resilience
Grass pushing up through concrete has always been such a powerful, universal symbol of resilience. Here’s that same spirit of life surviving and thriving under the most difficult of circumstances on a large scale – 20 images of trees manifesting resilience and thriving forwarded to me by a client who is nourished by time in […]