April 19, 2022

letter by Catherine Leskowat

Friend,

Thank you for sharing a moment with me this Tuesday! Hope your week is off to a good start :)

3 Foods for Thought:

Connection (Wholehearted Living per Brene Brown) is the antidote to stress, possibly addiction, and the stress-illness connection is the greatest revolution yet to be made to the western medical industry [in my trademark not-so-humble opinion]. Making new friends is perhaps not as key as fostering existing friendships, but can be significantly more abstruse, and yes, I totally researched this lately! Making friends as an adult - not a bad little guide!

Parasympathetic vs sympathetic nervous systems: We all have that friend who's said "Running is my therapy"; maybe you've said something along these lines, but this is your gentle reminder that while exercise is essential to our physical health and certainly contributes to mental health, but it is flexing a different part of our nervous system than needed for healing, higher thought, etc. Go to the gym, sis, don't skip, but it is no substitute for stillness, for meditation, breathing exercises, or restorative yoga. Especially for my trauma survivors out there!

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Before you read further, humor me with a little exercise. Take a moment and think about one of the hardest things you've ever experienced. What were the resources in you and in your life that got you through? What are you most proud of in the outcome from that situation? Go ahead, take a moment and jot them down.

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Here are some things that came up for me:

The willingness to change

Love of beauty

Empowering others

Autonomy

As a wise woman mentioned to me recently: happiness occurs when we are able to live in line with your values. What made that situation hard, what got you through, who you are that you're most proud of: these are intimately connected to your values. Take a look and see what showed up in your recollection. What parts of your life allow you to flex and grow in alignment with those values? What if more of your life could do so? What would have to change to make this happen?

Big love, Catherine -- Catherine Leskowat (she/her/hers) Senior Lighting Designer Hartranft Lighting Design