Healing work is not meant to happen in isolation.  It’s not meant to impact only our individual lives or the lives of just the people closest to us.  The healing work we do is meant to reverberate through the world.  It is meant to bring us to the point where we are fulfilling our purpose, which, ultimately, is: healing the world. 

If you are anything like me, when you get stressed, you start seeking information. Knowledge is power and there is perhaps no other time at which knowledge gathering feels more important than in moments of stress and crisis.

Sometimes, stillness is our most important action and resource. Action might not be the right word here. Since stillness is a being. It is a stopping of action. Not forever, mind you. Just for a moment. To watch, to witness, to gather, and to be.

I’ve written before about probiotics and the microbiome, but some recent discoveries have inspired me to talk more about the impact our microbiome has on our mental health and the huge impact our everyday choices have on our microbiome.

So many parents are trying to navigate their children’s use of screens  and social media.  But are screens really that big of  a deal? The answer is a resounding YES.

When times are hard:

-Meditate

-Eat nourishing food

-Drink lots of water — warm water can feel especially good…

You don’t have to be Buddha to be able to hold your child’s feelings, even though it may sometimes feel that way.  You do have to be able to manage and contain your own feelings, which can be challenging – even impossible – in some situations.  Grounding yourself and leaning into your own support systems before you engage with your children can help us truly be there for them without all the ways we need to be held hanging over their little heads. 

It’s impossible to avoid stress. And, in fact, stress is a necessary component of our lives. Without stress, we stagnate. But, when there is more stress than our body can cope with or unrelenting (chronic) stress — then, we have a problem.

Yes, you read that right. Taylor Swift can help you connect with your child — if your child is into Taylor Swift, that is. So often, we miss opportunities to learn about our children and connect with them around what they care about. We don’t like their musical choices, their taste in clothes, the games they play, the movies they enjoy.

Stop trying to change things. It’s so easy to say, isn’t it? “Don’t try to change it.” “Let things just be what they are.” “Sit in the present.” They’re all different ways of saying: let it be what it is. But wow, when your child is having a meltdown or doing something that they are really not supposed to be doing, it’s hard to just say: I don’t have to control this right now. And yet, sometimes that’s exactly what we need to do.

Did you know that creativity is essential to brain development and overall well being?

A while back, I wrote a post on why we need nature, reviewing the science behind the powerful and positive impact being in nature has on our systems — and the negative impact of a lack of exposure to nature has. These negative impacts are so notable that the phrase “nature deficit disorder” was even coined to describe what happens when we are deprived of nature.

It doesn’t seem like it should be so hard to eat healthy. But it can be. Some foods and practices that are recommended as healthy aren’t, in fact, healthy for everyone. But there are some very simple guidelines to eating foods that support our health.

My previous post was a radical self-love primer — the whats and whys of radical self-love. Now for the HOW. How do we cultivate radical self love for ourselves and for our children? Here are a few ways to start.

Have you heard the term “body positivity?” It sounds nice — important, even. But when we are led by poet-authors like Sonya Renee Taylor to examine it further, it comes up short compared for what we want and what is possible for our children, for ourselves, and for the entire, beautiful world.

So many parents are concerned that their kids seem to lack gratitude. It’s certainly wonderful that so many of our children are privileged enough that they don’t feel the depth and value of each meal, each hug, each book they get to read, each night they get to feel safe in their beds.

And yet…

Change is something that is often thought of as something really difficult, something that happens incrementally, if at all. But what if there were a different way to approach change that envisioned it more along the lines of a matter of setting yourself up for success?

In a word, no. It’s not. Parenting is not supposed to be this hard. And yet, in our culture, we are expected to be all the things to our little people: breadwinner, playmate, chef, advisor, educator (to name just a few). But without a village to support and guide us all — parenting becomes a deeply exhausting experience.

Self care has become a much discussed topic. And for good reason. Many of us have neglected the basic care and keeping of ourselves for so long that we no longer even know how to do it. Once we’ve reconnected with what we need — movement, companionship, nourishment, practices that are meaningful to us — our lives feel revitalized.

Some people say there’s no evidence that they work, while other people swear by them for their digestive health and beyond. So, what IS the deal with probiotics? Read on to find out!