Meet You at the Wort
After months of social deprivation, I’ve changed from “not much of a lunch person” to someone delighted by every opportunity to reacquaint myself with the people who make Jackson home to me. Being grounded for 16 months means we have a lot to catch up on, and most of the conversations are colored with vulnerabilities, joys, and reflections, the good by-products of surviving the worst period of collective uncertainty and chaos in memory.
I plunked down in the Silver Dollar this week with one of my favorite people, the patriarch of a longtime local ranching family. He has a clever mind, owning and operating several very successful businesses with his equally clever wife. He sits on nonprofit boards and brings in the stray cows. I like him mostly for his sense of humor and the fact that he’s a keen observer of valley trends, vulnerabilities, and politics. As my dad would say, “He’s a good neighbor.”
Our parents and grandparents used to regale us with the same stories about gambling at the Wort, Cutter Races right down Broadway, and “cocktail hour in Jackson Hole.” I came to Jackson after college, and he returned here with his wife to raise his young boys. His mom had me over for fondue to make introductions, and we’ve enjoyed good conversation over the years since. We’ve talked about kids (we both have two sons), cows (we both grew up on a ranch), and politics (we’re both worried). At lunch, we got through family updates and the irrigation schedule, then stumbled on another shared interest: the utility of mindfulness to build resilience.
He’d started with the meditation app “Calm” after an exceptionally stressful time with an international merger and told me that he loves the micro practices offered by Becoming Jackson Whole each day. I had seen him in the grocery store about this time last year and remember being delighted when he said he was participating fully in the 100 Daily Acts campaign (which is currently on Day 317 or something).
“Wait ‘til I tell Dad he’s part of a new trend of ranchers picking up mindfulness,” I said.
“Hell, no,” he teased. “I don’t want anyone thinking I’m a meditator.”
Though we were joking, the conversation turned somber as we went through a litany of challenges: The meanness in politics. The wasted leadership. The growing divides that make it harder and harder for us to understand what it would be like to be in someone else’s shoes, or skin, or rental.
I walked away, as I often do these days, even more determined to scale these evidenced-based tools in our community. The simple, scientifically proven methods develop attention, compassion, critical thinking, and our memory of why we want to live in a world where we actively care about each other, even those who are different from us.
“Small acts, big impacts” is one of our organizational mantras. So I am laying out some small steps here designed to boost your resilience and improve your human connections.
1. Read how Dr. Amishi Jha, our chief science advisor, begins with noticing the breath in this CNN report on simple ways to develop your attention muscle.
2. When you’re frustrated in traffic, let someone go ahead of you. (After ample field research, I affirm that this works better than swearing or gesticulating, at least for your central nervous system.)
3. Sign up for the first annual Becoming Jackson Whole TRYathlon, a free event that combines guided mindfulness practice, all-levels yoga, and a fun, family-friendly 5K. It’s fitness for body and mind, and it takes place on August 8th at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. It’s all free. It’s all for locals. It’s a way we can develop good tools and habits, together, while enjoying the mental boost that comes from being part of the local web of connections and being reminded that there is care here. Enough for everyone. Click here to sign up.
Oh, and pick up the phone and call your mom, if you’re lucky enough that you can. If not, call someone who makes you laugh or deserves your thanks.
With gratitude and care,
Sara