This poem by Jane Herschfield I think speaks to the decision we make to re-commit to our inner life and try something new. She says…

It is foolish

to let a young redwood

grow next to a house.

Even in this

one lifetime,

you will have to choose.

That great calm being,

this clutter of soup pots and books -

Already the first branch-tips brush at the window.

Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.

Here is something I share with almost everyone I work with: thoughts are not who we are, and while they are real, they are not always true. I like to think of thoughts as events in the mind, just like weather passing through the sky.

The trouble begins when we treat a thought as dangerous or a threat to our well-being. Our nervous system responds as if there is a real threat. We might try to push the thought away, argue with it, seek reassurance, or avoid the places and people connected to it. These strategies make sense, and they come from a part of you that is trying very hard to keep you safe. Unfortunately, they also teach your brain that the thought truly is a threat, which invites it to return with more force.

If this cycle has taken over hours of your day, it may be part of obsessive compulsive disorder. OCD is far more common, and far more workable, than most people realize.

Before I ever taught Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, I sat in it as a student. Twice, actually. I took my first 8 week MBSR course in Victoria years ago, and what I learned in those weeks reshaped not only my personal practice but eventually my entire way of being with myself and the way I work with people.

This October, I will be teaching my next MBSR cohort online, and since spots are limited, I want to share what this program actually is, beneath the acronym.

My hope is that these reflections offer you some reminders that you are not alone in this complex and strange world of being human in the 21^st century.

I know many of you are navigating the depths of burnout, trying to be kinder to yourself and living with grief and longing for more connection. We are in good company here.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to continuing this journey together.