178. The Palisades Fire: Finding Resilience and Compassion in the Face of Crisis

In this heartfelt episode, I share personal and collective challenges brought on by the devastating Palisades fire. With homes lost, routines disrupted, and uncertainty looming, this is a moment that tests our resilience, compassion, and ability to adapt.

Episode Highlights:

 01:55 A Personal Story: My family’s experience with the fire, including evacuating, facing air quality challenges, and navigating the emotional toll of uncertainty.
 
02:24 Community Kindness: Heartwarming examples of generosity, from businesses donating essentials to neighbors opening their homes.

05:09  Creating Stability in Chaos: The power of small routines, traditions, and meaningful connections to provide a sense of normalcy.

05:48 Listening to Our Kids: How to truly hear and validate their emotions while guiding them through difficult times.

07:14 Mindfulness & Breathwork: Learn the simple yet powerful practice of box breathing to reduce stress and build clarity during chaos.

08:43 Leaning on Each Other: The importance of collective support and how small gestures can create a ripple effect of compassion.

Thank you for the incredible outpouring of love, support, and encouragement. From messages to offers of support your kindness reminds us that we’re not alone in this. Let’s continue to extend that compassion to those around us; outreach can make a world of difference.

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Connect with Colette:

Instagram: @wellnessbycolette

Website: love-colette.com

Thank you for listening to the Limitless Healing podcast with Colette Brown! It would mean the world if you would take one minute to follow, leave a 5 star review and share with those you love!

In Health,
Colette

Transcript

[00:00:00] Colette Brown: The Palisades fire has shaken us all homes have been lost. Routines have been uprooted. And for many of us, the future feels very uncertain. And my family is living this right now. My daughter's school was severely burned. And. While we're thankful for online learning, the reality is that it's very difficult for her.

[00:00:30] Colette Brown: And we are currently looking for schools that we could transfer her toa couple of days after the fire started, the smoke was so bad that I really wanted to get out of town and get out of the smoke. And it's just so toxic. And when we were getting ready to leave and We were getting warnings that we were in a burn zone and that we might have to evacuate.

[00:00:55] Colette Brown: We had to think about what is most important to us to take with us if everything was just to go up in flames. And we actually grabbed a very small bag. It was passports, birth certificates, some pictures, computers, and we went. And everything Is replaceable. And it's really coming down to how we're all thinking about it.

[00:01:22] Colette Brown: And what are we doing collectively to help each other through this? Because it's just not easy at all. In the middle of all of this, we have just been so amazed by the warmth and generosity of our community, businesses and restaurants that are stepping up and giving out free meals to firefighters and essentials for families in need.

[00:01:46] Colette Brown: Donating items to the firefighters, like socks and eyedrops and lip balm, neighbors are opening their homes to their friends and family that have been displaced. And they're extending kindness in ways to remind all of us that we're not alone. People are donating clothing sheets. Chopstick. So many things that make a huge difference for those in need.

[00:02:12] Colette Brown: And even more inspiring is one of the members of my mom's group who I'm not going to name, but she heard about one of the moms in our group that their home was taken, and she opened up her rental property. For the family in need and told them to go with their kids and their dogs and just to relax and be safe and have a place that they could go.

[00:02:38] Colette Brown: And it's these random acts of kindness that just is being multiplied around Los Angeles. And that ripple effect, it's compassion. And I hope it's a ripple effect. around the world. I'm sitting here with my windows shut and an air purifier. Actually, I have three air purifiers running 24 seven. And like so many of you were navigating, not just the visible challenges, but also the emotional and mental challenges of the crisis.

[00:03:10] Colette Brown: And these moments of upheaval test us in ways that we don't expect, and they also offer opportunities to rebuild resilience for us, for our children and our communities. So how do we find Ourselves in the face of crisis, what do we do to step up? Do we run? Do we show up? What can we do? I wanted to say first that acknowledge the reality, the good, the bad, the messy, hiding our emotions or pretending that everything is fine only creates more tension.

[00:03:46] Colette Brown: We need to have real honest conversations, especially with our kids, let them know that it's okay to feel scared, frustrated, or sad. Share your own feelings too. Resilience doesn't mean ignoring hardship. It means facing it together. Next, we can create stability as parents, teachers, neighbors, and friends.

[00:04:09] Colette Brown: We can keep routines and traditions alive, no matter how small. Something as simple as a family game night or weekend pancakes can bring a sense of normalcy. Consistency provides a foundation that kids and adults can lean on when the world feels unsteady. We've hosted Friends, throughout this time and have had them for dinner and sat down and played games, and just talked about everything that was going on, just to create dialogue and to let them know that they're here and that they're heard, and to remind them not to lose sight of the future and to stay playful.

[00:04:48] Colette Brown: The third thing I wanted to touch on is really listening to your children. It's easy, especially in moments of stress, to focus on solving the problems or directing the outcomes. But one of the greatest gifts that we can give our kids is the chance to be truly heard. When my daughter says that she doesn't want to return to online learning, she's not just resisting.

[00:05:12] Colette Brown: She's expressing a need for connection and a desire for something better. Listening without judgment and validating their feelings helps children feel empowered and valued. And at the same time, we also have the responsibility to help guide them through this crisis. We have the experience and the knowledge as adults of seeing the bigger picture and of understanding how things will evolve and how to help them meet their needs as they grow.

[00:05:42] Colette Brown: We need to balance being listeners. With being those who can guide, helping them understand that their feelings matter while also helping them see the way forward. The next thing I wanted to touch on was mindfulness and breath work. If you've listened to any of my podcasts, you know that I'm really big into this because it can help reduce inflammation simply by introspection, looking in, calming down and calming our bodies with breath work.

[00:06:14] Colette Brown: In the moments of crisis, our bodies can feel stressed. Long before we're consciously aware of it, meditation and breath work can help us center ourselves and regain clarity. One simple practice is box breathing, which can be done anywhere to calm the nerves. Let's try it together. So the first thing that you're going to do is you're going to take a deep breath in and you're going to hold, you're going to exhale and then evacuate, which means [00:06:40] you're not breathing in or exhaling, and we're going to do it for a count of four.

[00:06:44] Colette Brown: And you can also extend this out on your own and you can do it as long as you need. So we're going to start with the inhale. So we're going to breathe in for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, And hold 2, 3, 4, exhale 2, 3, 4, and evacuate 2, 3, 4. Now you can repeat this a couple more times. And remember when you're stressed, you can do this in a car.

[00:07:15] Colette Brown: You can do it at a sports game. You can do it in an office, wherever you're at. You can do this simple practice of box breathing to calm the nerves. The act of breathing and focused breathing helps remind us that even when life feels a little chaotic, we can find moments of stillness and control. You can also teach us to your children, and these techniques give us tools to manage stress and to build emotional resilience.

[00:07:43] Colette Brown: Finally, and definitely not least, we can learn to lean on each other. Whenever You're a parent or a friend, a child. There's moments to stop and support those around you. A small gesture, a meal, a kind word, donating supplies, or offering a place to stay can remind someone that they're not alone. Resilience isn't built in isolation.

[00:08:10] Colette Brown: It grows through connection. The fire is testing us all, but it's also showing us what we're capable of individually and collectively. We can help our kids. And each other face these challenges with courage, compassion, and hope. Let's talk, adapt, and learn because together we emerge stronger. I want to thank you so much for all of the well wishes that you've sent in.

[00:08:40] Colette Brown: You guys have poured into me. I can speak for myself and the, the messages on Instagram and those that have my phone number, the phone calls, the texts, and the emails of just the outpouring from around the world of support and love and offering. Is there anything that we can do? It means so much to me.

[00:09:03] Colette Brown: And I just want to, again, say that we're safe and. We're still in it. The air quality is still bad. I'm usually wearing a mask when I go outside, but we're safe. And I just wanted to say a big thank you for all of the love and support and. I'm wishing everyone around the world to be safe and healthy and well, and especially my heart goes out to all of those affected by the fires in Los Angeles.

[00:09:31] Colette Brown: So sending so much love and if you know anybody that's been affected, reach out to them. They'll appreciate that you took the moment to just reach out and see how they are. It means the world. So thank you so much. And until next time, be well.