There is a time for showing emotions -- and all emotions are okay to show because all emotions are okay.  Our emotions are a part of us. Last weekend was a big day of  taking pause, remembering, being angry, and perhaps, depending on your circumstances, protesting.  Friends and family of mine took part in the No Kings protests, and I thought of them and prayed for them from afar. For me it was a day of hope and anger and prayer.

One of the reactions to “YesterDay” could be anger and frustration because you feel hopeless or that justice has not been served. Another reaction could be fear: fear of friends, family (or yourself) getting arrested. Even tears could be a response: tears of hope and joy over the turnout or tears of remembrance for what once was, a kinder and gentler era. For me, I am frustrated, hopeful and sad all at once. I have shed a lot of tears of late.

So, what are we to do with stress, then, personally? 

First and foremost, think of stress as a means of achieving your goal(s) and not as an enemy or what keeps you from success (see last week’s blog) and

second, become more aware, more mindful of yourself, of your situation, and of what your body is doing. 

Good communication is necessary for success.

In work and life. Part of communication has to do with who we are (integrity) and what we communicate is who we are (authenticity).

This is what I suggest to you for success, and for good communication.

So, what makes good communication? 

It’s complicated to communicate, but it IS do-able.

Last time I wrote about TRUST and now I am doing a follow up.

It is interesting because three people I know have recently brought up the subject.

What is needed for Trust?

Authenticity                      Integrity               Authority            Empathy

When looking for someone to trust, Donald Miller says we are looking for people to have empathy and authority.  You want to “be like Oprah” and have competency like Steve Jobs - or whoever is considered competent skills in your field.

I have been focusing on resilience for the last few weeks for obvious reasons, I think.  I hope you are benefitting from it!  Part of resilience is having the right assumptions and thoughts about <our (the) situation.

So, first challenge your beliefs about what is true- make sure your thoughts are real(istic)

Here 3 questions to re-evaluating your thoughts and assumptions–  some alternatives that help for a more accurate way to see life, and that lead to a resilient life try asking yourself about the incident or situation:

I has been a difficult month, but…

We CAN make it through the tough times- together!

Do you need some help to survive and possibly thrive in the next few lockdown weeks?  Has the news or worse, your personal experiences that I only see on the news, got you stuck? Stressed?

Overwhelmed? News reading or watching stressed out?  We can do this together and here are some things that can help:

Realistic expectations, Self-care, Self-regulation, Community, and Self-motivation are key for survival.

We need to sing more. I received a little bookmark to remember to “just read”, well, I am here to tell you to “just sing”.

Singing is  prayer for some of us. St. Augustine's famous quote on singing, often paraphrased as "To sing is to pray twice" or "He who sings, prays twice."

Singing uses all of us, not just our minds but our body, heart, soul and mind. It is wholistic and healthy. It is art, too, and anyone can sing. Claude Monet said, “I would like to paint the way a bird sings.” I interpret this to be at least partially that a bird sings because it is made to sing. We have lungs and vocal cords and so we are also made to sing.

Singing is good for you. It can reduce stress and enhance your cardiovascular system.