Winding Down these Posts
Exactly one year ago, I was shepherding 17 clients toward the retirement of our work together July 1, 2022, and referring them to new therapists. At the same time closing out teaching the remaining last dozen trainings, in person and/or online workshops, before the same July 1, 2022 deadline.
It’s been 9 months since I did retire, and I’m leaning into the realization that I will also retire from posting these weekly Resources for Recovering Resilience on July 1, 2023. (Everything posted 2008-2023 will remain archived on the website to review again forever.)
This decision is a deep upwelling of intuition; that’s often how significant life decisions are made, whether we are immediately aware of them or not. I have received so much support, encouragement, nourishment, comments and testimonials from all these years of posting e-newsletters, quotes, resources for recovering resilience. You have been more than generous, and I am more than grateful.
If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. – Toni Morrison
I was inspired by Toni Morrison’s advice to begin writing what turned out to be Bouncing Back. I wanted to be able to hand my clients a set of practices that would guide them in their healing journey. The book I wanted to hand them hadn’t yet been written, so I did write it myself.
Ten years ago, almost to this day, Bouncing Back was born into this world, and writing newsletters, teaching clinical workshops and personal growth workshop based on the neuroscience of rewiring the brain for resilience and well-being has been rippling out ever since.
More ripples, more writing, more teaching from the book Resilience in 2018; more again from the Resilience 2.0 course in 2020. And since retiring from my 30-year clinical practice and almost all of the teaching in July 2022, all of the writing has been winding down. (Though, I hope, still rippling.)
The very last teaching will be at the Cape Cod Institute July 3-7, 2023, what I’ve come to understand about The Resilience Mindset – our capacities to choose, even our responsibility to choose – how we meet-cope with-thrive through life’s challenges and catastrophes.
And, deep sigh, I will be winding down the posting of these e-newsletters as well, July 1, 2023.
I’ve been casting these newsletters upon the waters of this world since January 2008 and the connecting with readers, friends, colleagues, has been a joy ever since. The first newsletter ever was Reflections on Mindfulness and Empathy to Create Consciousness and Compassionate Connectionand that has been a consistent theme ever since. The focus zeroed in on resilience on January 2013 (Three Points to Steady You through Life’s Changes) and has remained the focus ever since. Many practices, much science, some philosophy, and always feedback from people on what was helpful, what might have needed correcting.
This decision to leave everything I’ve ever written and much of what I’ve recorded archived on my website – practices, video interviews, audio recordings, podcasts – but to slow down on creating new offerings, is quite intuitive, coming from the retirement into Renaissance shift from so much doing to more living and even simply being.
I remain interested and passionate (I hope compassionate) about people learning, healing, growth and transformation, just less actively engaged in crating those ripples myself.
I plan for the last Resources for Recovering Resilience posting to be July 1, 2023. Pretty sure. Acknowledging that life does evolve and emerge, not always as we planned.
May my life be life a river, ever surprised by its own unfolding. – John O’Donohue
But July 1 is the plan at the moment. Staying in touch with folks through email forever after that.
With the deepest of bows and tremendous gratitude,
Linda