Develop abundant sources of positive energy
Dr. Drew Benson, a psychologist, and LeaderWise colleague kicked off our summer e-letter series on resilience June 6. As he mentioned, each week we will write about one of the eleven tasks that Dr. Tom Skovholt, a prominent researcher in the helping professions, identifies as necessary to maintain our well-being. Last week we continued with Skovholt’s Task 1: “Lose one’s innocence about the need to assertively develop resiliency and self-care skills.” This week, Dr. Caroline Burke shares how to “Discover Abundant Sources of Positive Energy.”
Resilience Task 2
Develop abundant sources of positive energy
“Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, Here comes the sun and I say, it’s all right.”
In 1969 George Harrison and the Beatles belted this song out across the radio waves, and it was warmly welcomed by all those who had endured a “long, cold, lonely winter.” When the opening riff came on, car radio dials were turned up, and young and old alike sang right along. Harrison’s song announced the end of winter, but the end that we seek relief from—and resilience for—could be anything that saps our energy and dissipates our spirits. As we lean into these summer days, what are some things that might provide us with positive energy for our ongoing resilience?
Just as in the song, the sun is an abundant energy source: indeed, the energy source. It coaxes us out of our dark winter homes into the days of long solstice light. Those Vitamin D rays of summer elicit biking and canoeing and walking and gardening. We replenish our winter-worn fatigue by allowing our bodies and all of our senses to cultivate the energy of this current season. We take off our shoes and feel the grounded energy of our bare feet sinking into the freshly mowed lawn of our child-hood and our “now-hood.” And, if we pause, we may catch a whiff of a memory of those summers past, all contained in the intoxicating smell of the newly cut grass. (Here is a poem that captures this exact experience). Growth abounds. Energy is accrued. Resilience is restored.
We find energy, too, in being able to move our bodies differently in the summer than we do in the winter. In these days, we are able to open the doors to the day outside, put on some sturdy shoes, and stride out—if one is able—for some summer walking and hiking. Ah! There it is: The surge of energy in recalling the tangle of briars and brambles when in childhood we would skip along the path in the woods. Dare we try skipping again? Go for it!
The summer sun also brings out “beach reads”; that genre of novel that allows us to put our feet up on the lawn chair, doze off for a bit, and then wake up again without forgetting any plot that we were just reading. (If you are interested, here and here and also here are great beach reads that almost anyone would enjoy.) And oh, the comfort of the summer afternoon nap! Many find these short naps energizing (research gives some evidence). And speaking of the beach, for so many of us, lakes and rivers and oceans are an unparalleled source of rejuvenation. It is a perfect formula: Sun + Water = Joy. And joy is a salient component of resilience.
And don’t forget food! The foods of summer – the fresh fruits! The gathering of friends around a picnic table. Watermelon anyone? And then comes the arrival of the late summer harvest of tomatoes and corn and beans. We delight in farmers markets and eagerly say thank you to the growers for producing such a bounty of energizing sustenance. Our bodies are again nourished. You will find here a recipe for a wonderful, easy, summer salad. Pour a fresh squeezed glass of lemonade and enjoy!
Our bodies and bones know that summer will naturally pass, and winter—at least the dark moments or moods that it has traditionally represented—will eventually return. If we draw on the abundant sources of energy that summer provides us, however, we will have garnered the resilience that will sustain us through any “long, cold, lonely winter.” Then, even when those tough times arise, we will be able to say confidently, just as the song does, “it’s all right.”
Don't miss Dr. Ali Kenny's insights next week on the how we can "Relish the joy and meaning of the work as a positive energy source."
