Hello TEDheads!

All of us will go through suffering at some point. What will you cling to on that day?

Cliches and easy answers won't be enough. You will need something beyond 'everything happens for a reason'. Where will you find hope beyond positive thinking and pop-psychology?

The talks below will invite us to figure out a path that deals with reality without cliche. A path that invites us to drink of the real and not simply cover our pain.

Let's explore these questions and more together next week.

Please watch the following TED talk and read the article on your own device before the event.

★ Talk #1: "Everything happens for a reason" -- and other lies I've loved | Kate Bowler

In life's toughest moments, how do you go on living? Kate Bowler has been exploring this question ever since she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer at age 35. In a profound, heartbreaking and unexpectedly funny talk, she offers some answers -- challenging the idea that "everything happens for a reason" and sharing hard-won wisdom about how to make sense of the world after your life is suddenly, completely changed. "I believe that in the darkness, even there, there will be beauty and there will be love," she says.

Kate Bowler | TED
• July 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTcJmIbn5nw

★ Resource # 2: The gift and power of emotional courage | Susan David

Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and happiness. In this deeply moving, humorous and potentially life-changing talk, she challenges a culture that prizes positivity over emotional truth and discusses the powerful strategies of emotional agility. A talk to share.

https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_david_the_gift_and_power_of_emotional_courage

**Please note the following: