I gave a TEDx talk

This week I spoke at a TEDx event just outside of Boston.

My talk was titled “Invincible Hope” and is an exploration of what contributes to resilience when we’re faced with inescapable and painful circumstances (like any type of life-altering changes that knock you out of your ideas of what normal life would be). This could be losing a job, getting a scary diagnosis, facing a mental health struggle, or you know…a global health crisis.

I talked about Anni.

I talked about the realities of what a terminal diagnosis for your child does to your sense of hope, and what hope actually means when you’re faced with a situation that seems bleak and hopeless.

I talked about what has helped me still be here not just physically, but still here, engaged with my life:

1. Daily habits: not as a way to control every second of our life, but as a way to help our brains relax into familiarity when everything else is unpredictable.

2. Social support: ESSENTIAL. The only thing worse than going through something hard is going through something hard and feeling alone.

3. Hope will light the way (the big idea in this talk)

What is it about hope?

We have the choice to shift our hope from an expectation that things will improve externally and instead ground ourselves in a hope that we can always find our invincible summer (as philosopher Albert Camus wrote). We can find our inner light, and turn up the brightness.

Getting on stage and sharing my experience was wonderful, but it was only a small part of what made this meaningful to me. It was also about the growth required to pursue this opportunity, the pleasure of crafting my talk, and the management of nerves and doubts and barfy feelings. It was about the people I connected with along the way and at the event. It was about leaning into uncertainty and relying on those who love me for support.

My sister traveled with me. We played and laughed and cried and played some more. @genevajbennett words will never be adequate to express what your love and presence mean, not just to me, but for anyone who is lucky enough to come into your orbit.

10/10 recommend living life to the edges, my friends.