Breathing is our primary nonverbal language. Sharp, uneven breaths convey a message of stress even though someone might insist she is perfectly all right.

The second gift––patience––helps us deal with not knowing how long this is going to last.

Patience allows you to shift attention in a positive way.

The unrealistic belief that we are somehow entitled to go through life unmoved by other people’s suffering further limits our ability to cope with our own.

Our capacity to disregard and discount viscerally painful experiences is so ingrained that we have come to believe that “moving forward” means not allowing ourselves to be moved at all.

It’s impossible to predict how the heart heals or how long it is going to take.

Like breaking a leg, a serious injury to the psyche often gets us benched while the regular game of life goes on. It may seem strange that forgiving ourselves for having such perfectly human reactions is harder than forgiving whatever caused them.

It may not be elegant but it’s true: There is no place for bullshit in a disaster zone.

Catastrophic events serve a higher purpose.