We are now three months into the new year, and I find myself reflecting on the immense challenges we’ve all faced, both personally and collectively. Uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on many of us, and for those of us in California, the devastating fires in Los Angeles added another layer of hardship. This disaster hit close to home: my sister and her family lost their Altadena house and all their possessions in the LA Eaton fire. Immense grief took hold, and at times, I found myself feeling numb, exhausted from the overwhelming sadness, stress, and uncertainty, while at the same time feeling deeply grateful that all four of them were safe.

During this period of deep overwhelm, I turned to MCN’s primary mental health and well-being framework, the Witnessing Model by Dr. Kaethe Weingarten. The Witnessing model is a framework that helps us understand our positioning with the suffering we experience and witness in our communities, our workplaces, and the world. In viewing the four Witnessing positions, I realized I was stuck in the yellow square—aware and disempowered. (See below for the Witnessing positions.) The emotional pain, the destruction, the loss all around me made me feel completely powerless. I couldn’t change what had happened to my sister. I couldn’t erase the struggles of my fellow Angelenos. I felt physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. But as I reflected deeper, I recognized something important: my community was the self-care I needed.

From the very beginning, MCN was there for me, offering support, flexibility, kindness, and compassion. In moments when I felt like I had nothing left to give, I was reminded that I didn’t have to carry these feelings alone. I leaned into self-care -- real, restorative care that reconnected me to what truly mattered to me. I began to move into the green square of feeling aware and empowered.

I focused on small but meaningful ways to care for myself:
 

• Social rest – Spending time with people who truly nourished my soul. Being physically present with my family, holding and hugging my nieces and nephew, feeling the warmth of their little arms and connection.

• Being in nature – Taking walks in green spaces with my dog, who became my steady companion while my husband was traveling during the month of January. Just feeling the ground beneath my feet and the fresh air on my face helped ease the tension I felt all over my body.

• Finding moments of awe – Noticing beauty in the everyday. The vibrant color and scent of an orange as I peeled it. The way ice-cold water felt as it traveled down my throat.

• Finding joy in the little things -- The silly little dance my dog does while waiting for breakfast—tiny joys that reminded me of life’s goodness.

• Embracing my cultural pride – Honoring my ancestors whose journey has led me here to this moment. And I can’t talk about pride in my heritage without mentioning cuisine -- I have an ongoing list of Peruvian restaurants in Los Angeles.

If there was a silver lining to the LA fires, it was witnessing the power of community in moments of crisis. People came together to offer mutual aid, to support neighbors they had never met, to extend generosity and care without hesitation. Rebecca Solnit writes about how hope and solidarity emerge in the face of sudden disaster and seeing it firsthand was a deeply moving experience. But true community isn’t just something that appears as a product in times of crisis, disaster, or hardship. It’s a practice we must tend to every day. When we cultivate relationships built on care and reciprocity, community becomes a source of collective strength, interdependence, and belonging. It reminded me that, no matter our experiences or feelings, we are never truly alone.

I am endlessly grateful to the friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and even strangers who reached out to me and helped my sister during this time. Their kindness reaffirmed my belief that the love we have for one another as human beings is something worth fighting for.
As we move into another year—one that I’m sure will bring both challenges and joys—I hold onto this idea: Even in our hardest moments, even in disaster, community can be the light that guides us back to ourselves. And that is something worth fighting for.

Well-being is greater than our individual habits -- it is found in and creates community and collective care.

More Resources:

• A Daily Practice to Restore Equanimity
• How to Help Yourself in a Time of Crisis
• How to Re-establish Safety When You Have Been Jolted into a Stress Response

Celidwen, Y. (2024). Flourishing kin: Indigeous wisdom for collective well-being. Sounds True.
Kimmerer, R.W. (2013). Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teaching of plants. Milkweed Editions
Schmidt, L. (2023). How to live in a chaotic climate: 10 steps to resilience and empowerment. Shambhala Publications.
Solnit, R. (2010). A Paradise Built in Hell. The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster. Penguin