As the holiday season approaches, Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing instructor Mariann Johnson recommends taking a step back to appreciate our resilience and grace during the next few months and beyond.
Mariann Johnson
“It goes without saying that the past two years have been difficult, on so many levels and for so many of us. Experiences of uncertainty, loss and increased anxiety come to mind. Perhaps not so easily recognized however, is the measure of resilience and grace that has also emerged.
During the pandemic some of us have lost our jobs, were forced to move and to adjust to a variety of unwanted new normals. Parents took on teaching and principal roles. We offered heartfelt appreciation to a variety of hardworking and previously unrecognized front-line workers, and we learned to regularly mask-up in consideration of the wellbeing of others. Among friends, conversations have often turned to what we value most in life and how to express those values more fully and authentically in our daily lives. Not one of us has gone untouched or in some way changed.
As we enter this holiday season, it may be helpful to pause and reflect upon all that you have learned, how you have grown or are growing, and to honor your own and others’ resilience. Consider taking your reflection to a journal or sharing it in conversation with a partner, family member or a good friend. You may naturally find yourself wanting to extend appreciation to those who have helped you along the way or being inspired by your own and others’ innate capacity to grow and adapt, to be resilient, even during the most challenging of times.
In the spirit of this holiday season, you may also feel compelled to pay it forward – to do whatever you can, in whatever way you are able, to support others who are experiencing ongoing difficulties.”
Earl E. Bakken Center’s offerings and free resources to help build resilience and support individual and community wellbeing.
1. Learn more about the Center’s six-dimensional wellbeing model and practical tools for enhancing resilience.
2. Attend or view one of the Center’s free Wellbeing Webinar lectures, presented by thought leaders and experts exploring a wide-range of wellbeing topics!
3. Join the Center’s Mindful Monday community! Sign up for one of the free, weekly noon-hour sessions offering mindfulness meditation and gentle mindful movement.
4. Take one of the Center’s mindfulness classes or programs.”
Mariann Johnson is a mindfulness and wellbeing instructor at the University of Minnesota Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing She designs and teaches mindfulness programs throughout the United States, helped establish the Center’s Mindfulness at Work program, and is a member of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor team.
Contact:
University Relations | Savannah Erdman
[email protected]
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