Social-Emotional Learning: Self-Awareness

I think it really is a life-long journey to truly understand our own values, as well as our thoughts and emotions. Our daily decisions, both big and small, are based on all these three aspects - whether we are aware of it or not - I guess that we could also call it intuition or gut instinct. I have learned to notice when  my thoughts are in a complex mess. At that moment I try to go for a walk on the beach because it is such a calming place (even when the ocean is roaring). It always clears my head.  So does a walk in the forest. The Western Cedar trees are so magnificent!

Our values become visible in our daily choices: how we talk, what we do, and the activities we want to participate. I am excited about October approaching, because here it is the Resilience Month  - lots of events focused on increasing awareness of trauma and resilience, fostering collaboration and also educating people and organizations about trauma-sensitive practices. I think most of this learning begins with awareness: self-awareness to know who we really are, the awareness of others and their possible struggles, so that together we can build better societies.

Social-Emotional Learning: Responsible Decision-Making

As adults we are facing so many decisions every day! When my kids were growing up we were joking about "adulting" but already in early 2000's there was a saying "aikuisten oikeesti" meaning that it was seriously for real. And in many ways being an adult means that we need to evaluate the impacts of our decisions, like the safety concerns or benefits of our actions - or inactions. 

While walking or playing on the beach, my family has the rule of knowing where the wet sand begins - simply because sometimes there can be a wave that is much bigger than the others. Sometimes the waves carry big logs - huge, really - so the first rule on the beach is being safe.

This sand castle had been built during the low tide. Where I live the difference between low time and high tide can easily be 7-8 ft. (I often use this page to check the tides). Sometimes it is not safe to go to the beach. Other impacts (like the climate catastrophe) are so collective that it may feel daunting to even think about making "good decisions."  Still, we can choose to reuse, reduce, repurpose and recycle and make responsible decisions, big and small.