*Note to Reader - This is a draft of a manuscript I have been working on for years. It is unfinished, raw, and a little rough around the edges, as most drafts should be. If this resonates with you, please let me know!
I often ask myself, What is personal resilience? It’s become a buzzword in recent years, yet changing the words we use doesn’t change the problems we face.
We enter this world entirely dependent on others for survival, but too often, we lead lives that reject the beauty and simplicity inherent in that connection. Instead, we harm ourselves, each other, and the planet.
Why?
I believe it stems from a distorted assumption that disappointment is an unavoidable part of life. Over time, this belief builds walls around us. To protect ourselves, we hide behind superficial facades and, like Rhea in mythology, attempt to outwit the forces that torment us. In doing so, we shrink, contort, and deny the truth of our inner selves, sacrificing authenticity to make others comfortable.
Yet the truth of who we are—rooted in our biochemistry, shaped by our environment—longs to be expressed. It finds its voice in our relationships, caregiving, work, and natural creativity. Discovering this truth, however, often requires support.
Everyone experiences loss. The old adage, “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps,” is not only unhelpful but also dismissive of those enduring hardship. Society has normalized this behavior, embedding it even into social media and the booming personal development industry. Unfortunately, finding an authentic mentor who genuinely seeks to help rather than promote their success can feel nearly impossible. Whether you’re paying attention or paying for services, the irony of these promotional offers is hard to ignore.
But resilience doesn’t have to come at a premium. You can establish personal rituals for self-care that are affordable, realistic, and grounded. While you can’t always pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you can create better conditions for yourself through daily rituals for resilience.
So, what does personal resilience have to do with humanity and global challenges? Returning to the story of Rhea, we can reflect on our tendencies when peace is disturbed or something of value is taken from us. These reactions are often habitual. By learning and adopting new behaviors that align with our aspirations, we can cultivate resilience—not through sheer force but through intention and care. It’s possible to live the life you dream of or, at the very least, step closer to becoming your authentic self, unafraid to share your gifts with the world.
The hardest lessons I’ve learned have often been solved by the simplest choices. Living lightly on the land, in community with others, and in harmony with yourself is a deliberate decision. The world may be chaotic, imbalanced, and frightening, but rediscovering your calm, balance, and strength amidst the chaos is both possible and transformative.
Greed, power struggles, and intergenerational privilege have destabilized the three pillars of resilient communities: environmental, economic, and social systems. These patriarchal power structures have driven Earth into its sixth mass extinction, accelerating anthropogenic change on an unprecedented scale.
But change begins with choice. Resilience is not about avoiding life’s challenges but about meeting them with clarity, intention, and care—for yourself, others, and the planet.
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Isn’t it remarkable how something seemingly inconsequential can catalyze transformation? We witness it every day with the sunrise. To most, it signals just another day, but the intricate phenomena that must align for this moment to exist are far beyond human comprehension. In Five Pillars, we explore this vast, often over-explored terrain with a beginner’s mind.
Here is an example. It was exceptionally foggy one morning walking my dog. Visibility was limited to just a few yards ahead. To me, this alone could serve as a meditation prompt for the rest of the walk. As my dog Annie and I ascended a rise on the trail, a hazy glow shimmered around the sun, barely cresting the eastern hillside. Suddenly, I was enveloped by a glittering golden plume—tiny water droplets refracting the scattered rays of light. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though the wall separating the human and divine dissolved.
The moment was brief but profound. It carried a sense of the magical, earthly, divine, ordinary, universal, and deeply intimate. Words fail to capture its essence; the world felt too vast to describe. But it was something special—a reminder of life’s intricate wonder.
Rumi speaks of a field where paradox meets and makes love to itself. Life is an open field of possibilities. Can we embrace our divinity as fully as we acknowledge our biology? We are, after all, ecologically derived spiritual beings with one purpose: to live eternally, even when appearances suggest otherwise.
The water droplets that morning reminded me of life’s brilliant cyclical nature—a collection of fleeting yet eternal moments, as precious as diamonds. With each dawn, we face a simple but profound choice: to live reactively or resiliently. Will we cling to rigid expectations of what should happen, or will we open ourselves to the possibility of what could happen? Will we live in fear, or will we choose presence?
I like to imagine the Anthropocene will break free from this worn out way of being and become a beautiful terrain of possibility beyond the Garden of Eden. It is a place where each of us has a purpose and belongs.
Five Pillars emerged from a personal journey of rediscovery and healing. After a series of traumatic experiences, I turned to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Practicing it daily for over a year, I began pairing its principles with the spiritual teachings of Ernest Holmes, founder of the Centers for Spiritual Living. Holmes posits that we are both human and divine, and accepting this duality allows us to become whole. I combined my understanding of the natural ecological systems that sustain life on Earth, and sprinkled in other bits and pieces from a blog here, a podcast there to create my own prescription for self-development.
As a social and planetary naturalist—a student of life’s interconnectedness—I have developed best practices for living a harmonious life: one that is adaptive yet resilient, forward-thinking yet grounded in the present, unconditionally generous and kind, and equally human and divine.
This book offers a path for others to follow, guiding them through life’s uncertainties, especially those brought about by climate change and the Anthropocene. It is a signpost for anyone seeking to navigate the challenges of our era with clarity and purpose.
Let us be kind. Let us listen to the angels—those inner whispers, guiding us forward.
Clarity, Focus, Ease, Grit, and Grace: these are the Five Pillars. A Guide to Thriving in the Anthropogenic Age uses personal stories translated into universal metaphors, creating bookmarks for readers to place within their own narratives. I will dive deeper into the five pillars with examples, resources, and personal discoveries how cultivating clarity, keeping focus, remembering to play and be joyful, trust in my grit and strength, and express gratitude for my blessings.
Themes to be explored in this book include the distinction between setting a goal and becoming a goal, how present-mindedness allows us to grow into our authentic selves, and the art of living in flow rather than in flux. To live a life “LiT up™” as defined by the Five Pillars is to transcend mere survival, celebrating life’s joys while mastering its rapids. It’s choosing to walk a different street in an entirely new town. As these pillars strengthen, life opens to a shade of grace—a quiet yet profound contentment.
Grace is the canopy, the sky, the stars, and the horizon under which contentment rests.
