Dear ,
At this uncertain and unsettling time, it’s hard to know what we’ll be experiencing next. For some, our very livelihoods are being threatened, while others feel less directly impacted. Personally, I’ve been vacillating between intense anxiety and joyful awe. (The sunshine and fantastic wildlife that greet me on my walks in Florida help immensely,
including the amazing luna-moth sighting pictured above.)
Wherever you are in this moment, please allow yourself to experience it fully, and know you are in good company.
I’ve shared a broad range of resources below that I hope will meet you wherever you are. Please let me know if there are other forms of support that would be helpful.
If you are struggling and feel like you can’t escape it, I encourage you to curate and
titrate what you consume as much as possible. We all want to have a positive impact on the world, and that simply isn’t possible if we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed. Focusing on the things we can control can also be quite helpful as we seek to care for ourselves and those around us.
If you’re looking to connect with others, please consider joining one of the remaining Navigating Together sessions. In the first two meetings, higher ed
professionals met and spoke of the importance of building community and the challenges of continuing with everyday work while also responding to a crisis. Coaches and consultants with deep roots in higher education are on hand to help frame these conversations, which take place in small breakout groups.
Sessions are free and take place tomorrow and next Friday from 2 to 3 pm ET.
If you want to get centered, I hope you’ll take advantage of some of the many resources available, including a set of meditative contemplations that my good friend and colleague (and mindfulness teacher extraordinaire) Victoria Fontana and I have created for an academic audience. I also highly recommend mindful self-compassion practices, and guided meditations with Rick Hanson, Sharon Salzberg, Rhonda Magee, Pema Chödrön, Ruth King, and Thomas Hübl, among many other outstanding teachers.
And finally, if you’re feeling solid
and itching to start living your dreams, please check out the second installment in my walking musings. In this 5-minute audio, I briefly share how my life has transformed over the past decade. Hint: It starts as an inside job.
As always, thanks for being here, and thanks for being you.
With my
warmest wishes,
