Journaling about how to thrive

Yesterday as the pandemic numbers spiked in my area, and the air filled with wildfire smoke blowing up from the south, I was at my desk writing. I sat beside an air purifier running on high and accepted reality. I decided rather than fret I would create.

In a way I prepared for this moment last year by reading The Choice: Embrace the Possible, a memoir by Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eva Eger. What resonates for me about Eger’s work is that unlike the kind of toxic positivity that attempts to deny what’s happening or blanket the truth with platitudes, she writes about accepting what is, and then choosing what to do about it:

“Being a survivor, being a “thriver” requires absolute acceptance of what was and what is. If we discount our pain or punish ourselves for feeling… we’re not seeing our choices. We’re judging ourselves,” she writes. “Each moment is a choice. No matter how frustrating or boring or constraining or painful or oppressive our experience, we can always choose how we respond.”

This year is challenging us every day, but we still have choices and options. This week I invite you to consider what ways you can thrive under the conditions you’re experiencing. How will you respond?

I’m choosing to write, dance around my living room when I feel stuck, and teach what I’ve learned to help others along their way. Of course there’s always more to learn, so let’s keep journaling together.

With possibility,

Suzanne

Journaling with @suzannealyssaauthor is a weekly series on Instagram.