The Ecology of Being Positive:

Understanding and managing current patterns of stress (revisited for 2025)

This article has been posted to Substack and is adapted and updated from my book “A Wider Lens: How to See Your Life Differently.” It also appeared in Medium’s Illumination publication in a different condensed version, September 2020.

·Stressless Swans © Kenneth Silvestri

“Well-being in a changing world is about finding our way back to each other.”

Nora Bateson

“Next time you’re found with your chin on the ground, there is a lot to be learned, so look around.”

Frank Sinatra (From the song “High Hopes”)

Many barriers keep us out of sync with nature, causing immense harm and, in most cases, preventable. They can be personal, work-related, and/or global stressors. How do we address what the American Medical Association is now officially recognizing, that stress is the origin of nearly all chronic illnesses necessitating hospital admissions? Do we resort to giving medication as a quick fix, or do we look for a more favorable resolution, in keeping with a holistic perspective that respects how nature works?

In my field of psychotherapy, many colleagues see “patients” for years without moving past…