When Contentment Isn’t Enough: Holding Presence in Hard Times
Weekly Dose of Work Recovery Vol. 10.29.25
The collective weight of what we are experiencing is heavy 🏋️♀️
Despite my own recent foray into a practice of greater contentment, I can't ignore it's real hard for anyone who is paying attention.
You've no doubt seen some of this week's headlines:
1M Federal workers remain furloughed
1,000 Target employees received notice this week
40,000 Amazon employees about to be laid off
38,000 UPS employees laid off this year
Hurricane Melissa battering Jamaica as the strongest storm ever recorded
Not everything can be reframed with contentment, and not every pain can be assuaged with a silver lining. Sometimes, the most radical act of wellbeing is simply naming what hurts and making space for the pain of it.
Enter Pema Chödrön…
When Things Fall Apart (and Stay That Way for a While)
Pema Chödrön writes that when things fall apart, we often scramble to rebuild. And in so doing, we often return to something resembling comfort, order, or control. But what if the falling apart isn’t the problem? What if the pain itself is the path?
In her words, “We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that.”
There’s something strangely liberating about her honest assessment of being human.
Because it means you're not failing if you can’t find your peace right now. You’re not behind if gratitude feels thin or contentment feels unreachable.
You’re simply human in the middle of a cycle — one that’s embedded in the human experience and an experience as old as time itself.
The invitation, Pema says, is to stay present.
To soften into the ache rather than tightening or fighting against the hand of fate. To breathe right in the middle of the chaos, without needing it to resolve. Because only then do we glimpse something deeper than peace: the fierce stability of presence itself.
Because contentment isn’t always accessible. But grace and presence is.
— Bree
P.S. If this year felt like an undesired gut punch to your goals, I'm working on a LIVE workshop Your 2026 Soul Goal Reset to help you identify the most aligned soul goals for 2026. Thank goodness 2025 is almost in the rearview because I'm a different person than NYE 2024 me 😂 If you want to uncover your own aligned, soul goals, join the Soul Goal Session waitlist here to hold your spot for this free Executive Unschool workshop.
This Week's Did You Know? Presence is powerful, but presence combined with action is impactful change for good. The antidote to despair is small, specific action. Giving even a little to those meeting basic needs right now makes a real impact.
Support Local Food Shelves: Food insecurity is rising fast, especially for families facing furloughs and layoffs. A single $10 donation often provides 20+ meals through community food shelves. Find your local food shelf here.
Aid for Jamaica: Hurricane Melissa has left tens of thousands displaced and communities without power or clean water. Recovery will take years. Jamaica Red Cross is providing on the ground with emergency relief and World Central Kitchen is mobilizing food support.
Even $5 matters. Every small gift pushes back against helplessness and says: we’re still here for one another. Together, we will get through this.
Links & Resources We Love Right Now
A listen: This One Research Study Will Change How You Think About Your Entire Life. This podcast with Dr. Todd Rose fulfills the bold claim - prepare to get unschool'd about your illusions and the way groupthink persuades you away from your authentic self.
A learn: Women are disproportionately suffering from physical impacts of self-silencing. As the workplace becomes more and more challenging, women are not speaking up at great cost to their physical and mental health. With courageous conversations, health and peace can be reclaimed one honest conversation at a time.
A shoutout: Moves Method - a mobility practice that focuses on non-linear movements and regular SNACKS of movement to anchor real strength and flexibility that will contribute to greater likelihood of pain free aging. Watch this video if you're over 40.
Something I love: Sasha on Nobody Wants This. If you've watched the Nexflix show, you know Sasha is the MVP with his quick wit, radical authenticity, and a huge heart.
