Coping with Chaos
Did you breathe deeply today?
Dear Friend,
I had a plan.
I had planned to focus this issue on the community pillar of my Bridge to Thriving Framework. After all, warm, nurturing relationships are foundational to human thriving.
But every time I started to write, my energy fizzled.
Like others, I have been overwhelmed by *gestures widely at everything.* As with others, my overwhelm has been growing for years.
Orange Skies
Any remaining sense of sureness I had about the future started to crumble back in 2018 when wildfire smoke became so bad, during a day so hot, that my campus’ A/C was shut off across all buildings (except the hospital).
I had my first heat-related health event and had to leave work early. I thought, “Ohhhhhh. Shit is getting real.”
(As I remember this, I have to remind myself to breathe deeply. Unclench my jaw. Drop my shoulders. Come back to now…)
And I remember Amara Tabor-Smith’s provocation, “We’re in the apocalypse, give thanks!” A reminder that the new world we need will only be possible by letting go of our old-world ways.
This is a period of gestation. Deep breath…
More Chaos
Then, two years later, we had to acknowledge the terrifying presence of a deadly global pandemic, as climate change continued to remind us that humans had made some BIG mistakes.
In the midst of that, I, again, had my own small-world challenges to deal with:
a busted knee,
a shift to full-time entrepreneurship with an in-person business model (womp),
my father’s rapidly declining health,
the final stages of a long breakup, and
actually maybe catching COVID (it was February 2020—the symptoms tracked).
My life since then has not felt anything like the decades before. It’s been jarring—the speed and magnitude of change.
(Dropping my shoulders… unclenching my jaw… taking deep breaths… remembering Octavia Butler… change is the rule… Big sigh out…)
Now, the pile of worries has grown. And, while my beautiful community has been crucial across all of these years, the technology that matters most to me right now is my breath. (So, this newsletter has turned out to be about the relief pillar of my framework.)
Breathing is what keeps me able to show up to care work and activism. It helps my pulse stop racing. It helps my mind stop racing. It is active.
Breathing with intention reminds me that I am alive and I am serious about fighting for this precious life. Mine and yours.
Practice
Meditators in the Buddhist tradition practice Ānāpānasati. Navy Seals use a box breathing technique. Singers are pros at diaphragmatic breathing.
There are dozens of ways to breathe (see here, here, & here).
Keep Going
Stress can be devastating to our bodies, our relationships, and our sense of hope.
But there is hope.
We are that hope.
We can breathe through this together.
To that end, here’s a playlist you might enjoy!
With so much love,
Dr. Kia