Thriving Guide

For years I struggled to manage the hurdles of being a freelance musician: the hours of solitary work in my home studio preparing for the very public deadlines of concerts, the blurred lines between being at home and being at work, and the emotional waves of being a Highly Sensitive Person navigating the irregularities of freelance life. I approached each stress point in my life as a project, and I have spent over a decade creating solutions and tools to help me not only stay highly functional, but also help me get back up if I do fall into a rough patch. 

It turns out that these are the very skills we need for thriving right now.

For every challenge our society faces, we are called to consider what role we each will play in lifting ourselves and each other back up. For times as trying as the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes that role is simply to stay steady ourselves. Sometimes that role is to help others in one way or another.

I wanted to share–through writing and video sessions–some of the tools that have gotten me through my rough times with the hope that they could help others through this rough time.

It is a part of the great poetry of life that our past challenges can become our golden opportunities for service.

I am passionate about helping as many people as possible get through this time with their mental health intact. My new Tools for Well-Being eGuide represents just a small portion of my personal Thriving Guide that seems to be the most relevant to our lives during this time of economic uncertainty and shelter-in-place orders.

Since so many are struggling financially due to current events, I chose to make this eGuide free right now for newsletter subscribers to help as many people as possible. Please sign up for the newsletter if you would like a free copy!

If you are in a financially healthy place, please consider making a donation to my Venmo to support this project and help me make up for some of my lost income during this time of concert cancellations.

Thank you all, and shine on!

Sudden changes in life and employment, including suddenly having a lot of unstructured time or working at home in isolation, can have serious effects on your mental health and feelings of efficacy, especially if you’ve never learned tools to help you manage the traps that can have you spiraling downward.

Nurturing your mental health is the heart of your Thriving Guide.

Our lives have changed, and it takes time and compassion to process all the new emotions we are experiencing. Give yourself that space and the grace to accept that this is not a normal situation. What thriving looks like right now isn’t what it might have felt like six months ago for you.

You’re in a period of adjustment, and change is emotionally expensive.

This is a time to take special care of your brain’s chemical balance. Treat your brain both with the delicate patience and warmth you might give a terrified child and the objective care you would use to maintain balance in a complex organic chemistry set.

I am currently creating an eGuide with information and practical tools to support people in three major areas: being mindful about our internet/media intake, processing emotions, and helping our brains stay in chemical balance. If you would like to receive a FREE copy of this eGuide when I release it, please sign up for my newsletter.

If you have specific issues that you would like me to consider in these posts, I would love to hear from you! Please send me a comment.

Note: this is not intended to replace professional psychiatric help often needed to resolve severe anxiety and clinical depression. Seek professional medical help for these conditions.

The world has changed so quickly in the past weeks and months.

The changes hit my life two weeks ago–as they did for many in the United States–and within days, my life transformed from its usual hustle to a socially isolated standstill.

Within the artistic community, I immediately saw a rush of creativity, as many were determined to use this time to create new things and develop new skills. We all found new ways to connect, and some experienced the newfound space as a breath of fresh air.

But life isn’t that simple, is it? There was also grief, panic, anxiety, and lurking depression mixed into the lemonade. Sudden isolation and unstructured time is not generally a healthy mix.

Turns out, we aren’t machines that can just switch gears to keep producing non-stop. We are complex organic beings. We can push through a lot–which is crucial at times–but balancing forward motion with inner stillness and care is challenging, especially if you’re dealing with major life and job changes.

Thriving is more than focused productivity. Thriving is more than smiling or looking happy.

Rest is a part of thriving. Grief is a part of thriving. Processing emotions is a part of thriving.

Thriving is all the things we do to nurture and center ourselves. Thriving is the falling down and the tending to wounds. Thriving is the getting up and the striving for growth.

Thriving is resilience, not invulnerability.

Thriving has a thousand faces. You can be one of those faces, even if you’re down right now.

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