I don’t know about you, but I am feeling pummeled by so many happenings right now: elections, election protests, concern about escalating virus cases both on campus and in my social circles, fires, inclement weather, shorter daylight hours, overwhelmed students in my classes, concerns about how best to prepare for teaching in 2021, and also the saddening prospect of a holiday season without the social gatherings that bring so much joy. In the midst of all of this, I also find that the days are slipping away faster than I can mark them on my calendar.

So what to do when it feels like every day brings even more challenges and uncertainties?

Perhaps you would be willing to join me in a meditation led by our own Dean Gail Stearns?:

Spending some time in quiet reflection doesn’t take away any of the stresses that are around us, but it does help me to feel better prepared to be present to my students, to my colleagues, and to the demands of our current political and community circumstances.

Here are some resources that you might find helpful during this season of our academic year:

And finally, please enjoy this autumnal view of the Grand Tetons. This is the image that came to my mind during Dean Stearns’ meditation session that I linked to, above:

mountains in the distance with a river and brown grass in the foreground