Elemental pause

I work with many public employees whose work is caring for those who are traumatized, marginalized, suffering, abused, neglected and deemed less valuable. They do this caring work every day sometimes at great cost to themselves. Maybe this is the nature of your work too.

We, neighborhoods, communities, society, we must consider their work, those who are being served and those who are serving. What are we providing them to do this work? What are we valuing and investing in? What are we expecting of these people, our neighbors, and what are the consequences for us all? We are all connected and what happens, or not, for the neediest as well as for those serving the neediest, impacts us all.

But until we get these questions of value figured out, these workers need strategies to cope with the trauma, to restore their well-being, to strengthen their core. We guide them to science based practices for resilience in many forms, simple human practices to help them find ways to mindfully take care of themselves. This is not the long term solution for a caring society, but it does heal and strengthen our neighbors who work and care in the current reality of these workplaces.

Elemental pause

when the frantic pace draws your shoulders into a protective hunch

you look around and notice everyone similarly bent and slogging

when the weight of the decision that is yours alone sits heavily between your shoulder blades and knocks incessantly at your temples

when the tragedy of your client’s reality plays out on the screen behind your eyes on a repeating loop, while you are driving, making dinner with your family, shopping for school supplies, having lunch with your friend

when the vast volume of questions, requests, demands, meetings, policies pile up in your inbox looming, threatening

when you try so hard, so very hard to do what needs to be done, but without enough to do it well as you would want, but you have to keep doing it because the needs, the human needs are so great

you wish someone, your neighbors, lawmakers, anyone, everyone would really see the humanity at risk and decide to value and provide enough

but you keep going anyway because you love the people you serve

still, you wake up tired, move through the day tired, come home tired, go to bed tired but then cannot sleep.

please, pause.

go outside, just for a minute

step barefoot on the grass in the winter darkness

feel the wet and cold of the ground and let it wake you up

look up

notice the sky

breath deep

again

smell the air

feel the air

taste the air

look at the air

listen to the air and to the air becoming your breath and the breath becoming the air

when you can, find a tree

when you can, take yourself to the forest

find the trees

stand under their protection

walk with them

breath

let the presence of their company lower your shoulders, lift the weight, sort the pile, heal your exhaustion even for just a few minutes

and return carrying in you the sweetness and healing of this

elemental pause