My dear friend, Teesha, co-wrote a book with her friend, John, called Black & White: Disrupting Racism One Friendship at a Time. Teesha is a black woman and John is a white man. They are friends, both pastors– and met at the church they were working at in Atlanta, GA. The book that they wrote…
Category: Reset Tools
Practice being healthfully proud of yourself
I have the tendency to sometimes brush off the hard things I’ve done– and rather instead, to focus on what I haven’t been able to do or what I feel like I’m not able to do. Anyone with me? In her podcast Checking In, Susan David (PhD) posits that sometimes to make a situation more…
Ways to boost energy
What energizes you? Three things that energize me are: blogging trying to encourage and inspire others, and being silly Right now, I am smiling because I’m looking at a photo of my little family, on a walk this past weekend. We did everything possible to try to ensure our baby girl didn’t get sunburned and…
Nourishing Ourselves with Kindness
It’s okay that it might take longer for you to [ X]…. or it takes more effort to do [ Y]….. or that you do not excel at [ Z] …… You did not excel at these things before this worldwide pandemic. And, you’re reacting and responding in the best way you know how, given…
Power of Social Support
During quarantine, the ways that we seek (and also receive) social support probably look different. But, we eagerly and abundantly need it. “Social support is the most powerful protection against becoming overwhelmed by stress and trauma” Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD and leading researcher on trauma Restoring relationships and community is central to restoring well-being…
A Quick Grounding Exercise
Hey there! Try this! Let me know if this helps to ground you in the present moment. Name… I’ll go first. In demonstrating this for you, you might be able to guess what I’m doing: I’m munching on carrots and hummus. 🙂 This grounding activity is an exercise towards building mindfulness, which has been researched…
Video: Paraverbal language– how to calm yourself
In a high-stress pandemic, paying attention to these three things might help bring peace to you and/or to others. These are: These three things make up what is known as paraverbal language. Here is a video I made last week about it: The takeaway here is that the way you speak can make both the…
Ask yourself this question, and help reduce stress
What is one thing you can do today to nourish yourself? Maybe… go on a walk? Create a routine for today? Pause before reacting to the person/people you live with? Put a limit on how much news you watch/read? Pray (while washing dishes or when you notice you’re worried)? Do only what you absolutely need…
Self-care today
Ask yourself right now, what is one thing you are able to do today to take care of yourself? For me, one thing is letting myself feel what I feel. That one thing might change from day to day, from person to person. What is one thing for you? Jesus, please calm our bodies, strengthen…
Q-TIPing
“Hey! Do you need to use a Q-tip?” “Excuse me! Well, hmm… what do you mean?” “You know, Q-T-I-P….Quit. Taking. It. Personally.” I have discovered that it is really helpful when I don’t take things personally, hahah. It is healthy. Everyday occurrences where I could practice using a Q-TIP: when my baby is crying: I’m…