There are moments when the world feels too loud, too close. When the news carries activating stories, something inside us tightens. We want connection, desperately. And at the same time, we want distance. Safety. Control.

Recently, in our Community Connections program, a new member joined for the very first time. That alone took courage. She didn’t say much at first, but when it came time to create, she painted a door mat covered in hearts. Inside were the words: “go away.”

Instead of stepping back, we leaned in, smiling.

That mat said what so many people feel but struggle to articulate. The longing to be held, understood, and seen, paired with the fear that letting anyone too close could hurt, overwhelm, or undo us. Keeping people out feels safe. It’s familiar.

But safety, while protective, can also be isolating.

Letting people in is riskier. It asks us to sit with vulnerability, to trust that others can meet us with care rather than harm. It invites the possibility of healing.

That mat now sits as a quiet teacher. A reminder that ambivalence is not weakness. It’s honesty. And that showing up, even while wanting to push the world away, is an act of profound strength.

Connection doesn’t mean abandoning our boundaries. It means choosing, gently and on our own terms, to open a door just enough to let the light in.

Warmly,

Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong

Some moments deserve more than a quick congratulation in the hallway. They deserve to be celebrated, out loud, together, as a community. 

This week at Landing Strong, we are honoured to share joyful news: two of our own, Terry Biles and Gillian Ring, were married. And what a privilege it is to witness love taking root so fully and so beautifully. 

As many of you know, Terry is a Veteran who served in Afghanistan. Like so many who have carried the weight of service, he has also carried the invisible impacts that can follow. Terry’s journey has not been simple, and it certainly hasn’t been linear; but it has been deeply human. He is a living, breathing example of what it means to keep showing up. To fight your way back into health. To rebuild a life that includes not only strength, but tenderness. Not only survival, but connection. 

At Landing Strong, we often speak about healing in terms of community, purpose, and belonging. Terry’s story reflects that truth. Despite the darkness he has faced, he has found his way back into family, community, and love…and now, into a new chapter alongside Gillian. 

Please join us in sending heartfelt congratulations and warm wishes to this beautiful couple. May their marriage be filled with laughter, resilience, partnership, and peace as they step forward into the next stage of their life journey together.

Warmly,

Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong

January has a way of settling in quietly. The days are shorter, and even the most resilient among us can feel the weight of the weather. Which is why, every now and then, a small act of unexpected joy feels nothing short of essential.

Just before heading off on maternity leave, our staff member Mackenzie Robinson was confronted with a most serious situation: an alarming and highly organized infestation of duckies in her office. They appeared, she reported, to be intelligent, strategically hidden in the cleverest of nooks and crannies. There appeared to be eight. And counting.

Her formal request for intervention landed in my inbox with the appropriate urgency:

“I have an urgent matter I must bring to your attention… Perhaps they will take over the entire Landing Strong office… Or worse.”

We may never know who the culprit was…staff member? Landing Strong community member? A rogue duckie syndicate? But what we do know is this: it made us laugh. Out loud.

There is something quietly powerful about random fun. It reminds us that joy doesn’t need to be earned, scheduled, or justified. Sometimes it simply shows up; small, absurd, and smiling back at us from behind a filing cabinet.

At Landing Strong, we do serious work. We hold heavy stories. And precisely because of that, moments like these matter. They bring light into dark months. They connect us.

So, here’s to the duckies, wherever they came from, wherever they may still be hiding. And here’s to embracing moments of unexpected joy, especially when winter feels long.

After all… what the duckies!

P.S. baby, mom and duckies are all doing well

Warmly,

Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong

There are moments when leadership sounds less like policy and more like wisdom. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos struck me that way. He spoke plainly and philosophically about the importance of recognizing what is happening in the world, accepting the reality before us, and choosing to strengthen ties with trusted allies rather than yielding to intimidation or division. It was a call to connection over isolation, to collaboration over fear.

That message resonates deeply with us at Landing Strong.

Our community members are people who have offered themselves, often at great personal cost, in service of country. They are deeply patriotic, guided by values of duty, loyalty, and care for the collective good. Yet injury, whether physical, psychological, or moral, can quietly push people into isolation. The world narrows. Trust erodes. The sense of belonging that once sustained them can feel out of reach.

This is where our work begins.

Rather than digging trenches around pain, we focus on building bridges of understanding, shared experience, and renewed purpose. We name what has happened. We accept it with compassion and clarity. And then, together, we look for new pathways forward. We build on strengths, on common ground, and on the powerful bonds that form when people realize they do not have to carry their burdens alone.

In many ways, this is nation-building at the human level. It is alliance work. It is repair.

I am proud to be Canadian. And I am profoundly proud to serve those who have served our country. I do this by choosing, every day, to build bridges instead of trenches, and by believing that connection is always stronger than division.

Warmly,

Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong

Life is a journey, filled with moments that can feel challenging or heavy at times, but it is also one that is dotted with hope, love and kindness….and peak experiences. These are moments where we stretch beyond what feels familiar. They are also a quiet message to ourselves that we are still becoming who we want to be.

A Landing Strong team has started a new challenge. Comprised of community members, they are training to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. With each step they take, they are redefining themselves and discovering strength in unexpected places. This reminds us that growth rarely arrives quietly; it asks something of us through effort, commitment and courage.

Our team is already working hard to make this goal a reality. One member shared this week in training that they feel physically stronger than they have in years, likening their current fitness to approaching their twenty-year-old self. A big accomplishment already, and we have not even left Nova Scotia yet.

While the summit is the challenge, giving back to community is the heartbeat. Before summitting, the team will work with Massai leaders from the Malambo District of Tanzania, Africa, and in partnership with Kings-Edgehill School. This project will focus on construction of a girl’s dormitory for the Tumaini Primary School. The name means ‘Hope’ in Swahili, which speaks to the importance of this single structure. It has the potential to transform lives by providing safe access to education.

This one act of unity through community, achieved by working together, has the power to open doors that have long been closed for young girls for years to come. And, for that we thank our Landing Strong team for being these ambassadors of change and bringing our worlds a little closer together through your actions.

Help us help our team reach their goal! In partnership with Kings-Edgehill school, we are helping sell Education is Hope t-shirts. Each shirt is $20, with all proceeds going directly to the dormitory project (order details below). I would also like to thank the supplier Top Mark’s for their donation and making these beautiful shirts possible. 

Remember, while the climb may be hard, the view from the top is worth it.

Warmly,

Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong

There are times when the world feels unsteady beneath our feet. Headlines blur, difficult images linger, and uncertainty finds its way into places where calm once was. The world feels safest when those we love are protected and at ease. When they are unsettled, we feel it too.

For veterans and first responders, this unease can run deep. A lifetime of service dedicated to protecting others, responding to crisis, and standing on the front lines, means world events are rarely distant. They can stir memories of responsibility, sacrifice, and the cost of holding steady when stability feels threatened.

In many ways, even globally, this is a shared human experience. It is hard not to be affected by the knowledge that somewhere, someone else’s loved one may not be safe tonight. Carrying that weight can feel heavy. But there are things we can do to help ourselves and others. 

I was recently reminded by Mother Nature that even the smallest acts matter. Bees support one another through simple, steady actions by sharing warmth, tending the hive, and responding to one another’s needs. No single bee carries the work alone, as together they create safety and stability for the whole.

Our communities are much the same. Our voices matter, and the choices we make, especially those rooted in care and intention, can quietly steady others. We also have the power to step away from spaces such as social media platforms that focus on division instead of uniting us. Instead, we can choose not to engage with content meant to stoke unease and fear. This is a gentle act of self-care. Seeking balanced, reliable information in the media will also help us stay grounded and connected to our shared humanity.

What we think and how we respond matters. When we choose intention over reaction, and connection over division, we create steadier ground, for ourselves and for one another. This is often where internal peace begins.

At Landing Strong, we are here to support you. We are only a phone call away at 902-472-2972, and our updated 2026 program information is available at www.landingstrong.com/programs.

Warmly,

Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Executive Director, Landing Strong