Gratitude for Community and Connection

Since opening up about my return to work last week, I have been met with tremendous support. Family, friends and colleagues - past and present - even total strangers have reached out with messages of encouragement, sharing with me how my message impacted them. Some have even felt comfortable disclosing their own personal experiences with burnout and mental illness. It has been really touching and it has reminded me, again, of the importance of connection. I love this poem by Rupi Kaur because she so eloquently reminds us that without connection, without community, we are nothing.

In the last couple of years, the deeper I got into burnout, the more ashamed I became and the more I withdrew. Instead of leaning on my community, I put on a brave face and pretended that I had everything under control. In the last six months I have been working to undo those bad habits. I have been working to cultivate much healthier ones: to lead with authenticity; to develop and nurture genuine connection; to lean on others; and most importantly, to take every opportunity to express my most sincere gratitude for my community.