But the fun and screams and laughter and joy that surround deliberately created scary moments during the Month Of Halloween are different from the swamp of Fear and uncertainty we've collectively endured.

Our bandwidth is both a precious and limited resource, deserving of recognition, honor, and guarding against wasteful expenditure.

Our processing may look a little … weird … for a while.

And humor helps.

Learning to connect and intentionally hold space in a manner that responds to and mitigates the trauma (Big T or little t) that shows up in others is an essential skill we all are capable of learning.

Wilderness makes you work – planning, packing, paddling, portaging – for the rewards. Wild places aren’t easy comfort, and that is exactly what makes the experience so powerful.

The chaos cracked systems that were long overburdened and strained. The harm – the trauma – can no longer be denied, and relief can no longer be delayed.

Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it.

For more than a decade, industry experts – and practitioners themselves – have been sounding the alarm about critical levels of burnout and toxic stress experienced by healthcare professionals.

What stands out most, though, is the importance of time spent deep in imagination before a masterpiece can be created.

Too often, though, we give our feelings free rein. And too often (especially right now), the traumas we've experienced are showing up as anger, avoidance, or apathy.

What do we need to ReLearn, and how can we support one another in the relearning?

Our job, then, is to find and create and nurture relationships with other adults who will share the joy and a piece – no matter how big or small – of the responsibility.

In life, as in fiction, we can always ReWrite our story.

Not everything is a Face-Eating Bear.

Rest and Restoration are important. So is ReConnection.

There are lots of Re words floating around out there right now.

Most of us appreciate the importance of Joy – and of sharing it with others. It simply has become habit to overlook or ignore in the chaos, the stress, and the trauma of these times.

At this moment in time, our threat detection systems have been so activated for so long it is becoming difficult to distinguish between a Face-Eating Bear and a Cute Little Chipmunk.

The dance between the thoughtful and reflective parts of our brain and the parts wired for our very survival is an enduring one.

Never tie your growth to things you cannot control.