Sheltering in place means that we get to spend more time at home. For us that means working in the yard and getting those vegetables and flowers blooming at full force

Might as well make the best of a challenging situation, right!

Our circumstances provided the opportunity to clean up flower beds, plant some new varieties and help with our community garden. In the midst of our little summer heat wave,  I noted that one of our tomato plants was looking kind of wilty, as if they were calling out for a drink of water.   Such a sensible approach to heat stress as our temperature has soared to over 90. This tell-tale sign told me to rush an emergency gallon or 2 of water and  give that baby a bath. Just a few hours later and the leaves were perky, and the stems were standing strong

Being resilient is not a binary action. There are many paths to how we handle our stress and sometimes it is okay to retreat a bit when your leaves are feeling wilty. We often don’t see or disregard the warning signs of high stress and the price for that can become dangerous. Others may observe it before we do and listening to their cautions are important. In the Resilience Advantage. I say that “rest is part of the journey” and whether it is a good night’s sleep or taking a break in our day, our self-care is vital for staying ahead of the challenges we are facing..

Your Challenge This Week:  Monitor your own self-care and pick out one other person to watch to share your perspective on their self-care. Have a discussion about how well you are managing the many challenges we are facing today.

Events:

• Join me and others in our bi-weekly Resilient Mindfulness opportunity this Friday, July 10 at 8 AM (EDT) for a 40 minutes discussion and meditation on Managing Negative Emotions. You Can Register Here
•  Saturday, July 11 at 5 PM: My wife, Sheila Collins, our good friend and colleague, Laverne Baker-Hotep and I will be facilitating a program at Phillips Park in Carrick (in Pittsburgh) on “Reimagining Carrick” where we will meet with community members to explore the challenging issues of 2020;  The Corona Virus, racial equity and justice and what is happening in the community. Everyone is invited and you don’t need to even live in Carrick. For more information.
• Thursday, July 23, 2020 8:30 AM: My colleague Mike Couch and I will be leading a virtual webinar on Why Culture and Resilience Matters in a Crisis. We’ll be sharing findings from a global research project that has examined these topics. Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association.  You can sign up here.