In a world that feels fragile, this is how you find solid ground
Cultivating inner strength for the times ahead
This is the first post in my next series—Rooted Resilience—the theme of which? You guessed it…how we build inner resilience in tough times. The series explores how our inner alignment—i.e., our sense of self and place—germinates the seeds from which we can generate more resilience outside ourselves (e.g., in community, with nature).
If this piece feels melancholy at first, stick with me. I firmly believe that we cannot change what we do not face. So let’s look this gnarly situation square in the eye and claim the agency we have. From there, we can build the path toward something more solid.
Also, this post is a little (a lot!) longer than my usual—but hang in there! There are plenty of pithy reads in your future.
What does it mean to be resilient?
There are many definitions of resilience, but here is mine:
Resilience is our capacity to adapt to circumstances beyond our control, by drawing from a deep alignment within ourselves — those inner wells that buoy us, guide us, and direct our lives towards purpose.
Without these wells, we're at the mercy of every crisis, headline, or wave of collective panic. Which makes us fragile and unsteady — two things we are inherently NOT. We are capable. And we have far more agency than the people in power would like us to believe; and, frankly, than we’re ready to believe about ourselves.
When the world feels overwhelming, we must look inward to keep going.
It’s the only strategy.
But how do we do this?
And why is it so urgent that we do?
Why this matters…aka the stuff that keeps me up at night.
My mother always said I worried too much. But I have come to believe that worrying is just another one of life’s complicated gifts – carrying both strength and weakness, depending on how you wield it. I find that my ability to worry so well makes me more alert to what is fragile, allowing me to pivot past that fragility to find more solid ground.
And right now? There are a lot of things that feel fragile. We’re experiencing the karmic — so to speak — reckoning of systems that were built out of balance. Social systems that are frayed too thin. Economic systems that prioritize profit over people. Global systems that may not weather these particular political storms. When systems this fundamental wobble, a lot can change quickly. We must be prepared.
Below are the three “wobbles” that feel most pressing to me. They are also the ones defining the trajectory of Slow Fox Wellness. I’m writing about them, in this piece on inner resilience, because I believe they directly impact our day-to-day lives. And by acknowledging them now, we can walk ourselves through them towards something more solid — different perhaps, but hopefully firmer underfoot.
Put differently, these are areas where — despite their macro-scale — we have agency. We can shift our perspective, as well as our daily practices, and thus build real resilience.
Where we are fragile…
1. Lack of meaningful community makes us emotionally fragile.
People are lonely – like, at an all time high. The WHO’s most recent global report found that 1 in 6 people worldwide are affected by loneliness1. The highest rates are among young people (13 - 29 years of age) – the digital-native generation. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Mobility and online connectivity aren’t inherently bad but they’ve made us forget how important human connection is to our souls. We’ve frayed the multigenerational community so far, that we’ve lost our social bonds.
We lack a sense of shared purpose. We don’t have regular access to connections that feel nourishing. And we struggle to cultivate diverse communities. All of which is made more difficult by inadequate community infrastructure, from the national scale to the neighborhood scene.
In the US we have almost no social safety net to care for people, or set them up for success. And at the neighborhood level? How many of us know our neighbors? How many of us have access to safe, communal gathering spaces within our community? How many of us have consistent relationships of reciprocity with the people around us? And by this I mean something as small as Sharon shares her herbs, and Peter lends his lawnmower.
2. Work, and access to it, is changing dramatically; that makes us financially fragile.
Just this week I read a press release from the CEO of Fivver saying the company is laying off 250 employees because they are – with great excitement – going all in on becoming an AI-first company2. Four, maybe five, paragraphs in there was a quick mention of the lamentable loss of “great talent”, to a company that prides itself on a strong “culture of belonging”. QUEUE MASSIVE EYE ROLL.
The sharp, continued loss of jobs in the US tech sector—hollowed out by promises of efficiencies gained through AI—is wreaking havoc on people’s lives, both financially and emotionally. The true implications of AI at such a large scale—for example, driving end-to-end processes like performance management—are yet to be seen. But the speculative behavior of companies is impacting people now, with seemingly little consideration. Even if you don’t work in tech, the fall-out from any industry cratering has ripple effects far beyond those headquarter doors.
3. Lifelines, like food systems, are increasingly unstable—that makes us physically fragile.
We are a global commons. Our systems and livelihoods are deeply interconnected, even if we don’t see it day to day. Take the global food supply chain as one example: the U.S. doesn’t produce enough food to stock its own grocery shelves. We rely on other countries for many of the things we casually pick up each week—bananas, for instance. “Almost every banana in U.S. stores comes from Guatemala, Ecuador, or Mexico” 3. But our access to them is at the mercy of political choices (tariffs), the climate crisis (habitat loss, drought), and conflict (war).
Can we live without bananas? Probably. But it’s not just about bananas. It’s about the inability to appreciate how much we need each other to survive.
I know what I’ve just laid out sounds big and heavy. And each of those things are big…and heavy.
But we can step back from the chaos machine just enough to stop being constantly shaken by it. This isn’t about ignoring what's happening. It’s about how we orient ourselves towards it, so that we can navigate through it.
How do we face these things? How do we become more resilient?!
We must look inward.
We focus on the only thing we can actually control—ourselves: how we act and how we respond to what happens around us. That's it. Real resilience starts there.
Here’s what it takes:
Build self-trust.
When there is a lot of noise and sadness, can you hear your inner voice?
Inner resilience is, at its core, self-trust: knowing you can draw from your internal wells of strength whenever you need them. Our inner voice — which we all have — is a way to access this power. It’s discernible from ego, because it speaks the truth and sounds like clarity. A thread of wisdom woven into your soul.
This voice, in my experience, guides me in making decisions—especially the hard ones—and helps me reflect on who I am. When things feel unsteady, turning towards it keeps me grounded. It reminds me who I am and why I’m here. So even if I can’t see ten steps ahead, I can trust myself enough to at least take the next one.
This minimizes the hold that fear can have over me, particularly when it’s pervasive and weaponized. If I can hear myself, I know where I am. And in that knowledge, I am more resilient.
Recognize cycles + seasons.
When things feel hard, can you broaden your perspective to see bigger arcs?
We're taught that life should be linear—that everything follows simple equations. Climb the ladder + make money = success. Get married + have kids = happiness. But that's not really how it works. When you're stuck believing that progress should only move forward, every setback feels like failure. Every return to an old struggle feels like you've learned nothing. But when you understand that growth happens in spirals—sometimes revisiting familiar territory but from a higher vantage point—you get a new perspective on how time works.
Learning to mark time differently means recognizing that the difficult season we’re in isn't permanent, and maybe even holds a deeper purpose. This builds our resilience against chaos and despair.
Turn to nature.
When extractive systems fail, because there is nothing left to profit from, are you rooted to the earth?
Nature speaks constantly. As I tell my son in the woods: the trees will speak to you, but listen with your heart, not your ears. The people who've learned this heart-centered listening have become my greatest teachers—the voices I trust most as the world screams. They help us see differently, breaking down cultural illusions.
Take my teacher Erin. By most standards, she has little: living off-grid in the woods with no internet. But when she calls herself the richest person she knows, she means it. Her wealth runs deeper than money—it’s in the generosity that flows between her and the land.
Learning from Erin shifted everything. Inspired by her perspective, I began weekly abundance reflections, noticing what feels most abundant in my life—things that can't be bought. This practice has made me more resilient. When you're connected to the planet, when you see wealth in seeds, you're less vulnerable to scarcity-based systems.
This is why we need to listen to voices like Erin’s.
The people rooted to the earth hold wisdom our culture desperately needs—not just for survival, but for remembering what it means to thrive.
This is Rooted Resilience.
It’s not about ignoring the world's pain, but trusting that your inner voice will guide you. When the seasons of our lives (individually and collectively) bring change, there are deeper arcs of wisdom we can discover; particularly if we are attuned to the earth.
When we cultivate this unshakable self-trust, we fortify the wells of resilience. We become the solid ground we are looking for, and from that place, we can face whatever comes next.
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World Health Organization. (2025, June 30). Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death. https://www.who.int/news/item/30-06-2025-social-connection-linked-to-improved-heath-and-reduced-risk-of-early-death
Kaufman, M. (2025, Sept 15). Fiverr is going back to startup mode. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fiverr-going-back-startup-mode-micha-kaufman-jfe6f
Ye, Y. (2025, July 24). Where does your food come from? First-of-a-kind map tracks journey across thousands of miles. CU Boulder Today. https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/07/24/where-does-your-food-come-first-kind-map-tracks-journey-across-thousands-miles
Fabulous as always! Loving the new series too 👏
Thank you for this Kristen. It’s hard to ground yourself when everything seems so bleak but coming back to ourselves, to nature & connecting seems to be the answer to a lot of troubles