On Unraveling and Resilience

The world will unravel but you will not.  These are the words I want to say to my 17-year-old daughter. When I finally do, it will be my most important act of parental love.  The world will unravel but you will not.  Sober realism. Unconventional optimism. Broken pieces that reassemble into something that redefines, and reconstructs, our notions of what we call home. The enduring pull of our core humanity.  The world will unravel but you will not.

This is no longer abstract. In 2021, my Canadian home province of British Columbia experienced devastating fires as well as high temperatures comparable to a Middle Eastern heat wave. Extreme rains and flooding followed and turned thousands of people into climate refugees—twice in the same year.

These words reflect the worldview that has overtaken me while working at the front lines of conservation science alongside undying Indigenous knowledge. In a world of accelerating climate disaster, political doublespeak, and horrific colonial legacies, the conviction that we can remain our essential selves throughout the unraveling is what gets me up in the morning…READ ON

Benevolent creativity might help protect against the anxiety aroused by contemplating death

Certain types of creative activity can help buffer against feelings of anxiety evoked by thinking about death, particularly among those who are searching for meaning in life, according to new research published in Frontiers in Psychology.

“During the COVID-19 outbreak, the public was inevitably exposed to death-related information or situations, which may activate their awareness of mortality and further evoke negative emotional outcomes, such as anxiety and fear,” said study author Xiang Zhou, a professor and vice-dean at Nankai University…READ ON