As I sit here in the warmth of my kitchen, smelling the sweet aroma of baking granola, I feel particularly grateful to be inside while the elements rage outside. Snow day, what wonderful words. All the busyness of life comes to a screeching halt as I hunker down for a good ol’ time of doing nothin’.
It feels strangely calming simply standing still in time. Many people may be stressing about the elements they can’t control in their life today: appointments they can’t make; places they can’t get to; children who are stuck at home. Although I have a lot of things I was hoping to do today, probably the most important thing I can do is recognize and accept what I can’t control. Make the best of it. I’m talking about the art of letting go.
This snow day situation is perhaps a parallel of what many of you are facing every day in your lives: loss of the ability to do your job or participate in activities that you enjoy and are accustomed to. Over the years, I’ve come to learn that the people who recover from trauma the fastest are generally those who acknowledge that it is a process that can’t be rushed. They are patient with themselves. Those who push themselves to get better faster take longer to recover. By focusing on the things that we can control and letting go of those we can’t, we’re honouring the process of recovery.
For those of you who didn’t get to stay home during this bad weather (perhaps your jobs involve going out in these conditions to help others), I thank you. For it is your actions that keep us all safe.
Be warm, be safe,
Belinda Seagram, Ph.D., R. Psych.
Founder, Landing Strong
