Last week I got into my car and started crying for no explainable reason. Feeling like a total failure; a fraud. Like there’s something permanently wrong with me.
Do you ever feel this way? If you do, I’m sorry. It sucks. But we don’t have to hold our suffering and trauma alone.
I always knew I had some trauma from childhood, but honestly thought I had done “the work” to heal from it.
But with good help from a counselor, I realized that recent events working in healthcare during the pandemic, and long-term exposure to secondary stress and trauma, had re-activated my trauma and brought it back to the surface.
I know I am not alone in this. And neither are you.
As we emerge from COVID-19 (in the U.S. at least), many of us individually, and all of us collectively, are just starting to process our own stress and trauma. It can come in many forms:
- Grief and loss over loved ones, lost businesses, or opportunities…
- Long-term isolation of social distancing from friends, family, and loved ones…
- Perpetual states of fear, wondering if/when we’ve been exposed…
- Uncertainty about who/what to believe about the science of the disease in the media…
- Media and political voices telling us to soothe our fears and anxieties by blaming others… (which only increases our social distance and sense of connection and community)…
- Strained marriages, relationships, or divorce (divorce rates are way up during the pandemic)…
- Any other mysterious sources can trigger grief and trauma…
That’s why I’m hosting a live, interactive conversation for those of who strive to lead with compassion into the emerging post-COVID world.
We have an amazing opportunity to reshape our personal lives, our businesses and professional lives, our relationships, and our communities… in ways that are more human…more humane…more aligned with our genuine values…
But we will have to support each other processing our grief and trauma first. We will have to support those we lead, too. Only then we can be truly healing presences of grace in our contemplative leadership.
I want us to do that with intention, create a safe space for dialogue, support each other unconditionally, and aspire toward a more connected, compassionate community.
Join me for a live discussion:
“Trauma, Healing, and COVID: How Do We Lead in a Post-COVID World?”
Thursday, June 10, 7 pm (CDT)
This will be available exclusively to members of our free Facebook group for Busy Contemplative Leaders.
I will be posting a Zoom link in the group announcements for those who want to engage in a live conversation, and it will be streamed in the group at the same time.
Click below to join this group of compassionate leaders seeking peace and healing – for themselves, for their businesses, and for the world.
facebook.com/groups/busycontemplativeleaders
Peace,
Tom
P.S. Can’t make the live event? Click and request to join anyways. You’ll get exclusive access to the recorded event, and you can join the conversation about how we move forward creating a more compassionate world… PLUS tips and valuable content to help you deepen your daily practice of prayer or meditation, deal with stress and overwhelm, and get centered in your deeper purpose, guided by Divine Wisdom.