Last month, I was chatting with a colleague at the Michigan Veteran Affairs Agency (MVAA) and he asked, “Have you heard about any resilience summits in Michigan?” “No, I haven’t. What have you heard?” “Nothing – and that’s a problem. People really need this support right now. Would Worldmaker consider hosting one this fall? We
The first week of September was the season-opening at my family’s orchard. The Big Apple orchard is our happy place. Most of the time, it feels like we’re throwing a community party, with “new friends” welcomed to pop in, of course. We have had visitors from as far away as the UK, Europe, and Australia.
It has been a slog. Planning (and replanning) an international symposium and service trip in Zimbabwe and South Africa through a global pandemic. The list of setbacks has been long, and what we’ve experienced reflects just a sliver of the direct impacts on the people themselves: Major hotel goes into receivership, causing reservations to go
Amidst all of its challenges, the Covid-19 pandemic is bringing many opportunities to hit reset on systems, policies and practices that are not serving humanity. One that I am personally invested in getting right? Shifting workplace wellness initiatives to center on relationship-based resilience practices rather than solely on individual practices. Why does this matter? When
The first step in managing influences is being aware of what they are and how they are impacting you. Let’s start here… how are you feeling about your virtual communication these days? Studies indicate that seeing yourself on screen while in conversation with others is negatively impacting some people’s mental health – and this is
“It makes my heart sing to see how such simple acts of care can bring so much joy to others,” my friend, Linda, said as she was telling me about her community organization’s work to grant wishes to low income seniors. “What are some of the fun wishes you’ve granted?” I asked. “There was a
Maybe it was my birthday turning the calendar toward another year of life. Perhaps it was my father-in-law’s (and thus our family’s) journey through COVID. Likely it was the backdrop of work I’ve been doing to help the helpers through the pandemic, mass disasters, and other situations that are leaving a whole lot of people
In a recent NY Times Opinion titled, “The Losses We Share”, Meghan Markle candidly shares how she struggled to see how she would heal after experiencing a miscarriage. Weaving this loss with other life experiences, she came to an understanding that our collective path to healing begins by asking each other, “Are you OK?” and
Years ago, I interviewed Marci Shimoff upon the release of her book Happy for No Reason. Her story about interviewing a woman named CJ for her book has stayed with me ever since. CJ had been very depressed for 15 years. She’d had lupus, an autoimmune disorder. She was in a great deal of pain
A few months ago, I received an email from Christa Nelson, owner of Epiphany, a local public relations and marketing firm. In honor of her upcoming 50th birthday, she decided to dedicate 50 weeks to giving back and acts of kindness. She was looking to highlight the work of some of her favorite nonprofit organizations
