Natural Wisdom Counseling

01/19/2026

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Do not forget that great love comes with fierce truth-telling.
Do not forget that the ability to withstand extreme pain without looking away or checking out is necessary in order to achieve justice and peace.
Do not be complacent with your own pain, with the pain you have directly caused others, or the pain that you indirectly observe.

01/19/2026

The natural world has much to teach us in this regard. And we have much to (un)learn.

“The moment we choose to love, we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.”

–bell hooks, from the essay “Love as the Practice of Freedom”

Photo: Dave Hage

01/19/2026

Life is messy. Clean up your mess(es) before trying to help clean up others’. If you haven’t, you might be distracting yourself, enabling others, or simply overstepping instead of helping.
-love notes from a therapist

01/17/2026

The most successful people I know are never at 100% capacity.

That sounds wrong. We've been taught that optimization means maxing out. Full calendar. Every dollar allocated. Every hour scheduled.

But running at 100% means zero room for error. One unexpected expense breaks the budget. One sick day collapses the week. One difficult conversation and you're emotionally tapped out.

That's not productivity. That's fragility.

The people who stay calm when things go sideways aren't calmer by nature. They just built slack into the system.

→ 15 minutes between meetings instead of back-to-back
→ Money in the account that isn't earmarked for anything
→ Energy reserved for the stuff you can't predict

Operating at 85% feels like leaving something on the table. It's actually the opposite. It's making room for reality.

Because something will break. Someone will need you. An opportunity will show up without warning.

The question is whether you have capacity to handle it or you're already running on fumes.

Margin isn't laziness. It's strategy.

—

I write a weekly newsletter where I unpack these ideas.

→ newsletter.scottdclary.com

01/17/2026

“If I don’t do my work, I become work for others.”
-Lama Rod Owens

01/17/2026

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow." –Mary Jean Irion

📷: Gaelle Marcel

Start each day right with an inspiring gratefulness quote in your inbox. Sign up here: https://grateful.org/practice/word-for-the-day/

01/16/2026

Here’s a dose of cute for you

Since you guys just absolutely ate up her last grandma fit 💅

She says don't forget your sweater dear.
It's cold

01/16/2026

We’re honored to welcome Zaretta Hammond, MA as the keynote speaker for the Learning Brain Exchange!

Zaretta Hammond is a nationally recognized educator, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, and a leading voice at the intersection of neuroscience, equity, and instructional practice. Her work challenges educators to move beyond engagement strategies and instead build the cognitive capacity of every learner, especially students impacted by trauma and opportunity gaps.

If you work with students who struggle to feel safe, regulated, or academically confident — this keynote is for you.

Learn more & register: lbe.attachtrauma.org

01/16/2026

Just like your laundry, you don’t just “re-organize” yourself once after a stressful experience. You have to commit to organization repeatedly to feel coherent and clean.
-love notes from a therapist

01/16/2026

Therapists need self-care too!
Grateful for filling me up on some hard days over the past couple weeks. 🙏🏼
And many other times over the years! 😅
Good food.
Good people.
Good down time.
Fill yourself with the good stuff. And then get back out there and offer some good stuff!
xo

01/16/2026

Potential resource

Return from the Underworld a 12 Week Somatic & Soul Journey to Soothe Deep Ongoing Grief Immerse in an independent 12-week journey, merging ancient wisdom with modern research to cultivate practices that bring solace and healing. NEXT ROUND STARTS FRIDAY, July 4th NEXT ROUND startS Friday, June 6th....

01/15/2026

DBT Skills.