Happy Wednesday, Dear Peeps!
How are you doing out there in the pastures of your lives?
What is happening in your world that challenges your ability to find a holistic balance of rest and stimulation for body, mind and heart?
And what helps you bounce back when life comes at you full force? Do you have a favorite healing place?
Ponder this. . . What is your resistance and resilience quotient? On a scale of one (very low) to ten (very healthy) how would you rate your current ability to resist the downward spiral of thoughts and actions in times of high stress and your ability to bounce back (be resilient) when thrown off course?
Each of us experience life stressors differently. Oh there are common events that cause us all to be stressed, such as moving, illness, death of loved ones or pets, divorce, loss of a job, or public speaking. But in general, the same type of event evokes very different responses in people.
So while it is true we share common systems for processing life events (mental, physical, and emotional systems), we differ enormously in how we interpret events of all kinds.
It is our interpretation of particular events, experiences, beliefs that give personal meaning. When we are stuck, highly distressed, and anxious it is usually a result of a profoundly personal interpretation that drains our internal resources and leaves us feeling lost and misunderstood.
This is useful to ponder from two points of view.
One is from the perspective of parenting.
As parents, we need to consciously teach our children good coping strategies and healthy ways to interpret the unpredictable and often challenging world they are growing up in. We help them develop good habits of thought and compassion toward self and others. That takes modeling and lots and lots of practice.
And the other is from a personal perspective.
We can make healthy decisions when we have established habits to help build our resistance to negativity and our resilience for when we make mistakes and/or face tough challenges.
What habits and strategies have you developed that help you find the calm in the storms of life and bounce back when buffeted by the harshness of life?
For me, finding the calm in the storms (either personal or generic) comes with spending time in places of healing and with people who are practiced in holding a space for my ups and downs until I can find my center again.
At the hospital where Tom has had his surgeries there is a place called “The healing gardens.” This space is provided for patients and loved ones to come outside and absorb the beauty of Nature’s gifts. I loved finding a respite there.
Solomon thought it would be fun to share our favorite healing place at TSJ headquarters.
We have a raised deck with a gazebo (picture above) and that is our healing place.
Good things happen there. Mostly quiet appreciation of Mother Nature by watching the birds and wildlife, enjoying the beautiful and strong trees and greenery, and absorbing the rays of sunshine that warm our hearts.
Quiet sharing happens there. Contemplative prayer and study happens there. Friends and family enjoy building relationships there. And it serves as my summer coaching space sometimes too.
Such places are crucial for our hearts, minds, and bodies to restore.
A healing place helps us start to build resistance to despair and negativity and resilience when we need it.
We repeatedly keep discovering the grace and guidance each day brings when we are whole. What feels horrible one moment can seem filled with “good stuff” once the personal meaning expands to bigger views.
I am deeply grateful at this time in my life for the years and years of finding a larger-than- myself frame of reference that help in difficult times.
Good habits of restoration, renewal, and sharing build a reserve account that we can draw from in times of distress and stress.
And Solomon represents that calming wide angle view of simple trust in the Chief Shepherd’s Presence. We all have many resources to help us renew each day!
See you playing in the pastures!
Margie and Solomon
