When Jon Kabat-Zinn published a revised version of his book on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in 2013, I noticed that he changed the title from Living the Full Catastrophe to Full Catastrophe Living. This might seem insignificant, yet I think it speaks to something you're getting at here. Living the Full Catastrophe, put crisis outside of us and mindfulness as the practice that will change our stress level. Full Catastrophe Living urges us to make the move from anticipation--getting out ahead of problems and avoiding stress, or using our practice to calm unavoidable stress--to full participation with life as it unfolds, and using our practices as a means of being present to what is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. And, recognizing that there is a relationship between our identity project and how the circumstances of our lives unfold.
When we hone a heroic identity as the consummate problem-solver, we reap certain rewards, some more obvious than others. One of the less obvious rewards is that we can soothe the anxiety of others by fixing and caretaking. This payoff is eventually eclipsed by an unanticipated cost--the people we soothe begin to resent us and vice versa. A cycle of learned helplessness and dependency develops, comfort zones shrink and relationships suffer.
When I read your Possibility Practice, I see #4 as the critical shift. "Let's sit with this." means I'm inviting the competence of others onto the playing field. I'm inviting curiosity and dialogue and moving away from control toward collaboration.
This is a beautiful inquiry, Adam. Thank you for bringing your voice to Substack!
Wow—beautifully observed. You're right, that subtle shift in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s title is exactly what I'm exploring here... an invitation into participation rather than just stress management.
And I love your framing of the "identity project"—that ongoing, two-way relationship between who we are now and the Self we aspire to become. Another reminder that there's no final state to "becoming." Powerful.
When Jon Kabat-Zinn published a revised version of his book on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in 2013, I noticed that he changed the title from Living the Full Catastrophe to Full Catastrophe Living. This might seem insignificant, yet I think it speaks to something you're getting at here. Living the Full Catastrophe, put crisis outside of us and mindfulness as the practice that will change our stress level. Full Catastrophe Living urges us to make the move from anticipation--getting out ahead of problems and avoiding stress, or using our practice to calm unavoidable stress--to full participation with life as it unfolds, and using our practices as a means of being present to what is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. And, recognizing that there is a relationship between our identity project and how the circumstances of our lives unfold.
When we hone a heroic identity as the consummate problem-solver, we reap certain rewards, some more obvious than others. One of the less obvious rewards is that we can soothe the anxiety of others by fixing and caretaking. This payoff is eventually eclipsed by an unanticipated cost--the people we soothe begin to resent us and vice versa. A cycle of learned helplessness and dependency develops, comfort zones shrink and relationships suffer.
When I read your Possibility Practice, I see #4 as the critical shift. "Let's sit with this." means I'm inviting the competence of others onto the playing field. I'm inviting curiosity and dialogue and moving away from control toward collaboration.
This is a beautiful inquiry, Adam. Thank you for bringing your voice to Substack!
Wow—beautifully observed. You're right, that subtle shift in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s title is exactly what I'm exploring here... an invitation into participation rather than just stress management.
And I love your framing of the "identity project"—that ongoing, two-way relationship between who we are now and the Self we aspire to become. Another reminder that there's no final state to "becoming." Powerful.
Thanks for elevating this conversation, Sandra!