Practicing Resilience Through Everyday Experiences

Today, as Vancouver sinks into another atmospheric river, the rain hasn’t stopped for hours. All my clients switched to online sessions, and I decided to take a longer walk with my dog.

After so many years of practicing mindfulness, I notice that my body sometimes begins to practice on its own. The moment I stepped outside, I felt everything — raindrops touching my face, the cold slowly seeping through my beloved black Lululemon cap, my boots meeting the puddles, my eyes following my dog, who was joyfully running ahead. He’s one of my best mindfulness teachers — always fully present, living moment by moment, without judgment.

As my body settled into awareness, my mind followed. I was simply there — showing up fully, breathing, being in my body. And yes, also practicing a bit of distress tolerance. It’s not always warm or convenient to walk in heavy rain, but as my grandmother used to say, “You’re not made of sugar.” Harsh words, perhaps, but true — we don’t dissolve in discomfort.

We can get soaking wet, come home, change into dry clothes, make tea, and find deep satisfaction in that simple contrast — the movement from cold to warm, discomfort to comfort. It’s a practice in itself: learning to find ease within unease.

The rain, it turns out, is one of the best teachers. So if it’s raining where you are, I encourage you to go outside — even for a few minutes. Stand still, feel the drops, the air, the aliveness of your body. Especially here in Vancouver, where rain is almost constant, we get endless chances to practice embracing what is — and finding that we can be content inside, even when the weather outside is less than ideal.

I’ll leave you with this thought for today — and I’ll see you in the next post.