Hey folks! This week I wanted to do something a little bit different. It’s important to have variety in our lives. I know you all love following along with Dr. Rosenberg’s book, but this week I wanted to pause and share a truly inspiring story about my grandmother, as I believe it directly correlates to our book “90 Seconds to a Life you Love” by Dr Rosenberg. To start off, my grandma is 102 years old, which is wholly impressive on its own. My grandma was born in 1921 and has lived a very coloured, adventurous life. She grew up through World War II and eventually met my grandfather, married, and had five amazing children. My grandma is a hardworking, persistent woman, who gives light and warmth to anyone blessed enough to be in her presence. Even now, when she is bed ridden, she never fails to make me smile, crack a joke, or tell stories from her childhood. My personal favorite is when she stole her father’s grain truck for a little joyride, or when she traveled the world and rode elephants in Thailand. My grandma has lived her life to the absolute fullest, even with hard obstacles and major losses. She chose a life she loved, and within that substructure, she created a family tree that has also chosen to live a life they love. I see this in my dad who takes his motorcycle out every week, hikes with me, and joins his mother for breakfast every morning.

With all that we have learned in the past couple of weeks, my grandma exemplifies our teachings about moment-to-moment experience, self-attunement, and the Rosenberg Reset. How you may ask? She lived and continues to live her life to the absolute fullest, even at 102. In regards to self attunement, as the definition is “the ability to access the power of healing, wisdom and your higher self”, she has done an outstanding job of showering her family with unending wisdom, and healing through words, kindness, and loving actions. Having five children was no easy task, yet she raised them all with commendable patience and compassion. In order to do that, she had to work through many hard and difficult feelings and situations, and we can learn to do the same.

One of my favorite artists, Lana Del Ray, sings multiple lyrics in her songs that exemplify the grace, compassion and love we must give to ourselves and others that my grandmother has exemplified. One of her opening lines talks about how she has worn the same clothes for the past three days. You may be asking, well Maddy how does that even connect? It connects by encouraging us to extend grace. Some days, even weeks, are so much harder than others, and if you have been wearing the same clothes for three days, and admit it, that shows, authenticity with a measure of human messiness, and that to me is beautiful. As we talk about the grace we need to extend to ourselves and others, it is so important to remember that we are all humans, who mess up, sometimes love too hard or not enough, and there is comfort in our shared humanity. As we go about living our lives and trying to love it, it’s not always smooth, so even as Lana admits to wearing the same clothes days on end, she goes on to say “not all those who wander are lost.” This week please take those two lyrics into your lives - it’s ok to be human, and it’s okay to wander as you try and find what gives you joy and purpose.

This week’s action step is to remember that you are important, you matter, and your humanity is shared. My grandma is an example to us all, of living well even when our bodies begin to fail us. I’m so glad you are here, reading this. I am honoured to be on this journey together.

Next week we will dive back into the book, but this week give yourself, LOVE, COMPASSION and KINDNESS. You deserve it, I promise.

Madison is a Psychology Assistant & Digital Marketing Assistant at Eckert Centre. She is a university student majoring in psychology at the University of British Columbia. She is our blogger in residence, and we are grateful she is sharing her writing skills along with her mental health journey. May her young wisdom help all of us grow our “Wise Self.” For more information visit www.eckertcentre.com or email our team at info@eckert-psychology.com

Works Cited

"7 Ways to Deepen Your Self-Awareness through Self-Attunement." Be Kind & Co, n.d., https://bekindandco.com/inspiration/7-ways-to-deepen-your-self-awareness-through-self-attunement.

Del Rey, Lana. "Not All Who Wander Are Lost." Chemtrails Over the Country Club, Interscope Records, 2021.

Rosenberg, Joan I. 90 Seconds to a Life You Love: How to Master Your Difficult Feelings to Cultivate Lasting... Confidence, Resilience, and Authenticity. Little Brown Spark, 2020. Apple Books, https://books.apple.com/us/book/90-seconds-to-a-life-you-love/id1466751090.