Cultivating Resilience and Joy!

Happy Wednesday! Did you know that today we are welcoming in Black History Month? I want to take this opportunity to share one of my favorite authors with you, Resmaa Menakem. His book, My Grandmother's Hands, is truly a work of art and a very important contribution to somatic psychotherapy and trauma therapy.

Resmaa talks quite a bit about how trauma is held in our bodies and can be passed down through generations. But did you know that Resilience can also be passed down?

Simply stated, resilience is the ability to recover from tough things. When something bad happens to us, how quickly we metabolize the event and not let it impact us for ages to come determines how resilient we are. Over time, that resilience can be worn away by repeated bad stuff happening. Imagine your resilience as a rock and water as trauma that slowly wears away at it.

Does that mean that we only have so much resilience and once it's gone that is it? Nope!

You can cultivate resilience!

Cultivating resilience is actually very easy and it feels good. It is as simple as engaging in the things that bring you deep joy, warm fuzzies, a sense of contentment in the bones and a smile to your face.

Take a moment and things of the things that awaken these feelings for you. Maybe write down some of the best ones. Here are a few of mine:

• My cat snuggling under my chin

• The smell of jasmine on a warm Summer day

• My favorite soft blanket

• Sharing a hug with someone

I could go on, but you get the idea. What makes this work is INTENTION, MINDFULNESS and CONSISTENCY. Really sink into the experience, savor it, soak it up, consider how it feels in your body, notice how your nervous system slows down...

When you mindfully engage in in joyful activities, you change your nervous system. The people around you can feel it too. The most powerful thing you can do to change the world is to change yourself. Start there and welcome in and savor the joy.

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