There are many things about this country that I’m proud of. This hardly feels like a time for celebration, though, as deep penetrating sonar unearths our nations darkest secrets.
Today, on Canada Day, I choose to focus on the beauty and diversity of our country. I celebrate tolerance, respect and understanding.
I celebrate compassion and education.
I celebrate the richness of the culture of our First Nations people.
I celebrate a day and time when we view one another as equals, regardless of race, gender and ability.
I envision a country where all this is possible.
Warm regards,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych. Executive Director, Landing Strong
We don’t reach the light through endless analysis of the dark. We reach the light by choosing the light. – Marianne Williamson
True confession: when I swim over dark water, I’m overcome by fear of prehistoric creatures rising from darkened depths and grabbing me. It harkens back to days as a young girl, reading through glossy prints of terrifying prehistoric fish. Imagine a piranha, and multiply its size and number of teeth by 100. You get the picture.
For some reason, if I swim with someone beside me, I’m safe. A magical band of protection unites us and protects us from harm.
Trauma recovery is like that. Alone, in the dark, it’s terrifying. Together, by shining a light on it, somehow it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.
Warm regards,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych. Executive Director, Landing Strong
The key to joy is being easily pleased. – Mark Nepo
Let’s take a mental vacation. You’re enjoying one of nature’s greatest views, but the person beside you is struggling, noticing instead everything that’s missing from the experience. Perhaps it’s too hot, or too cold. Maybe they wanted to catch the sunset but just missed it. Maybe they think of the people who are not there to share it with them.
They are trapped in the land of expectations.
What would happen if we stopped to notice each moment without expectations? Relinquish judgement and focus on those things, here and now, that bring us jov.
Injuries from trauma involve judgement. Usually against ourselves, sometimes others.
An essential aspect of recovery involves living in the here and now. Noticing, appreciating, without judgement, all that is beautiful in our day.
Warm regards,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych. Executive Director, Landing Strong
How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. – Elizabeth Lesser
I was speaking with a government employee some time ago. She identified the stress she experienced working in an environment that was constantly changing. Every year, new procedures were brought in to address workplace challenges. It struck me that she was in for a hard road, since the only predictable thing about government is change.
I was reminded of Kodak. Remember them? The former photography giant who missed the digital train because they were so resistant to change. Now the Kodak name is barely recognized by the younger generations.
Recovery and growth are all about change. Letting go of the familiar, and embracing the unknown: being willing to view our experiences from a different perspective. By sharing our experiences within safe communities, we allow ourselves the opportunity to view things differently. Our world expands, and recovery becomes real.
Warm regards,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych. Executive Director, Landing Strong
To listen is to lean in, softly, with a willingness to be changed by what we hear. – Mark Nepo
I love what I do. Perhaps it’s because every day offers the opportunity to learn something new. If I approach a situation thinking I know the answer, this can prevent me from truly seeing, listening, and understanding.
In truth, the more I learn, the more I realize how much there is that I really don’t know.
There’s something incredibly freeing in that.
It’s often in the hardest moments that we discover life’s true beauty: courage, compassion, sacrifice, and love. I want to lean in, softly, with a willingness to be changed by what am witnessing, and hearing.
Warm regards,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych. Executive Director, Landing Strong
Isn’t it odd. We can only see our outsides, but nearly everything happens on the inside. – The Boy, the Mole the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
If people could see us, truly see us…what would they think? Would they see honour, integrity, courage, and loyalty? Or would peeking behind the curtain reveal things that we may be hesitant to acknowledge: sadness, exhaustion, guilt and loneliness.
Anger is the easy emotion- the suit of armour- but it’s not what lies underneath.
What strikes me, is that we wouldn’t feel the hard feelings if the good ones weren’t also true. We can’t feel guilt or shame if we don’t have integrity We can’t feel loneliness if we haven’t known teamwork. We can’t feel fatigue if we haven’t worked hard. We can’t truly know sadness if we haven’t known love. We are all these things.
Perfect is overrated. It’s the knocks and bruises that make us real.
Warm regards,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych. Executive Director, Landing Strong
