Category: Daily Dose

Today we offer a reminder on the importance of being there for others. These theme was recently presented on “The Late Show with James Corden”, who organized a #HomeFest series of performances. In this performance, Ben Platt & Cast of Dear Evan Hansen Perform ‘You Will Be Found’.

Right now, it seems everywhere you turn there is another challenge to face. In the midst of this, we may become trapped in emotions and thoughts that, while natural, will make overcoming these challenges even more difficult. Today’s Daily Dose is a challenge to reflect on the skills you have always had to manage the distress, and any that you have learned through this pandemic, to cultivate a sense of calm in your mind. This is a skill we all need to continue to build and maintain, and even if you do not reach your goal of calm today, this does not mean you cannot do it tomorrow.

Some days the difficulties seem many and insurmountable. Some days you may feel that you are lacking in perseverance, or that it is unfair that you have to go on. Today’s Daily Dose is a reminder that those feelings are normal, but will come and go, and that we have the power to overcome our difficulties.

Some days it may seem difficult to imagine a time when the work of fighting this pandemic will be done. There may be days where it feels that you are fighting an impossible fight. Today’s Daily Dose reminds you that, while it is certainly alright to feel this way from time to time, the greatest accomplishments have been born from things that seemed impossible until they were done.

Cambridge-based therapist and spiritual director at Harvard University Katherine Stiles offers the following meditation on Pablo Neruda’s well-loved poem “Keeping Quiet” during this time of pandemic. She reminds us that we will be back to hugs and handshakes. Concerts and movies. Protests and elections. Travels and adventures. Gatherings. We will find a new normal. But for now, we have to step back in order to care for each other. The time is now. We must act in a powerful and skillful way to “Flatten the Curve” and stop the viral spread of fear and disease. Today ask yourself: What is being asked of us as we confront this global crisis, which is also a global opportunity to reset? What is being asked of us as we contemplate right action in such crazy times? What would it look like if we took a breath, hunkered down and stopped for a few precious moments to “all be together in a sudden strangeness”? What would it look like if we just kept still? Just for a bit.

We all have a sense of what we need to get through this, and many of us have been reminded of what that is time and again. But sometimes we need to hear those messages repeatedly, even with slightly different words, to internalize them. Today’s Daily Dose touches on many of those messages, from a spiritual perspective.

We all wish that we were already at the end of this pandemic. At a time where a vaccine has been created and distributed, at a time that looks somewhat more normal. This is an understandable wish, but it is not where we are and that is something over which we are exercises all the control we can, while some things remain outside of our control. For those moments where we feel out of control, or where the longing for better days becomes difficult to bear, we offer this thought…

Sometimes we need a little humor to get by. In today’s Daily Dose, we present this quote by English comic author Douglas Adams, author the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. While this quote may very well describe the series’ hapless protagonist, Arthur Dent, who inadvertently found himself traveling the galaxy while all that he set out to do was head down to the town hall in the small village of Cottington in England’s West Country, may not have gone where he intended to go but, by the end of the books and through many trials and tribulations, ended up where he needed to be in order to save all of human existence. Enjoy the quote, and consider picking up something humorous when you get home.

Psychologist, professor at UCSF, and pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions Paul Ekman originally identified six discrete, measurable, and physiologically distinct emotions that exist throughout almost every culture. These include anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. Since his early work, we have come to recognize the existence of many more emotions, which are often some combination of these more basic emotions. Today we challenge you to recognize the subtly in your emotions. Rather than just labeling yourself “happy”, “fearful”, or “angry” push yourself to dig deeper into what is going on for you and why. Let this emotional color wheel be your guide!