Please indulge me a bit with my thinking.  I’ve been so impressed with the breathtaking scenes of this year’s wildflower superblooms, that it opened my eyes to other things that might superbloom in their own way, including people. 

“Superbloom” is a non-technical term that refers to rare episodes of above average wildflower blooms.  According to National Geographic, they happen when seeds that have laid dormant in the soil begin to germinate and blossom all at once.  I love this fact as a great metaphor.  We all have potential inside of us that lays dormant.  We may not have the time, energy, or resources to develop it, or the confidence to express it, but it builds within us, nonetheless, storing up for the right conditions to emerge.  

National Geographic elaborates that superblooms require a few basic ingredients to come to fruition:  months of consistent rain, cool night temperatures, and a well stocked seed bank.  What do people need?  I’m guessing the right combination of social support and mentorship, health, stability, and emotional readiness.  We might also benefit from the structure of a challenge in some form, like a play performance, a deadline for a project, or meeting that special person who inspires you to take a risk.

It makes me smile to think about times in my life I might look back and identify a superbloom period, like getting my doctorate, emerging from heavy grief after my sister’s death, or feeling great contentment in my every day. I can see superbloom episodes for my family, when my brother became a father, and as my children pushed through challenges, whether letting go of the “mean girl” friend or passing a high level exam that had kept them up at night with fears of failure.  Or superblooms for friends as they overcame a devastating divorce or sold a company that they had worked to make successful.  

But like the wildflower superblooms, we have to take time out to appreciate them and step back in awe to gain a full perspective.  And we have to treat the blossoms with care, no stomping or walking all over them for a photo.  Within us, we have to give ourselves permission to acknowledge our progress and celebrate our growth with tenderness.  And for others, we have to show up and “ooh and ahh” to say “I see you blooming” after what most likely required long periods of hard work and resilience.  For just like the wildflowers, human superblooms generally take years in the making. 

I guess the essence of a human superbloom is a period of time when conditions align in just the right way to nurture our inner potential into full expression. And like wildflower superblooms, it’s not a rate of growth we can expect to sustain, as nature and people have their seasons.  But when it happens, you don’t want to miss it, because it is spectacular!

Happy College Graduation, my baby girl!  You’re bloomin’ amazing!

With today being Easter Sunday and having personally just completed the Passover seders this week, I thought it was a good day to highlight the benefits of religion for good mental health.  Research is very clear and consistent that those who are involved in some sort of religious practice are healthier and happier than those who don’t!  Hard to believe?  Well, the good news is, you actually don’t have to be a true believer to be positively impacted.  Just the act of engaging in a religious practice is a process that can bring you a greater sense of peace and life satisfaction.

Overall, research shows that religious practice can help a person tolerate stress and generate a sense of purpose and forgiveness.  Religiosity reduces suicide rates, alcoholism, and drug use.  Large studies by the Pew Research Center show that adults who describe themselves as religious report higher life satisfaction, better family life experience, and are more likely to be engaged in their community.   Considerable research finds positive associations between religiosity and various dimensions of wellbeing, including physical health, mental health, life satisfaction, and happiness.  

The benefits of religion happen on many levels, which is why the results are so powerful.  One big benefit is the sense of community that religion can bring.  By being part of a religious community a person develops a sense of belonging in a group, social connections with other members, and access to reliable and safe social gatherings.  Religion also provides structure that helps with life transitions.  Rituals and ceremonies help people cope with loss as well as celebrate milestones and holidays.  And in doing so, religion provides teachings and guidelines in how to endure in hard circumstances, find moral clarity, and find forgiveness and gratitude.  

But what I found striking in my review of the effects of religion on mental health was how the process of engaging in religious practices of prayer and other ways of connecting to a higher power is much like the scientifically proven practices of mindfulness and cognitive therapy. Religious practice often involves a self reflective process that can lead to a sense of peace and greater awareness.  In a book based on her studies, Stanford anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann writes, “Prayer is a lot like cognitive behavioral therapy.  It’s a way you attend to your own inner experience, let go of distracting thoughts and focus on more positive thoughts.  By expressing gratitude, you shift your attention from the way that things are going wrong to the ways they are going right.”  In her studies, Luhrmann notes that MRI brain imaging indicates that in terms of results, talking to God resembles talking to a friend. Our efforts to connect to God are helpful in putting our thoughts and feelings into words and finding comfort and perspective in sharing them.  

So, for me, it’s easy to doubt my religious beliefs.  Especially when cleaning up all the dishes of the second night of the seders and sweeping up the layers of matzah crumbs, I begin to wonder if it’s worth all the fuss.  But then I look around the room at the people who have come together and the efforts we collectively engage in to  uphold our religious rituals and I feel truly moved.  I feel the thread of connection from the generations before me, now gone, who created these traditions, through the present generation who keep it going, and on to my children and nephews and imagine how they may carry it on in the future.  There is something truly profound in having traditions that connect us to something much bigger than ourselves, whatever religious foundation they may come from, that we share each and every year and with each and every generation.  Whether it’s an Easter egg hunt or a kugel recipe, a prayer or a psalm, the familiar rituals done in community are good for our hearts as well as our souls.  And in general, they are cheaper and easier to find than good therapy!