
Dr. Laura Gabayan, author of “Common Wisdom: 8 Scientific Elements of a Meaningful Life,” is using many of the skills she studied and then wrote about, as she and her family rebuild after they lost their home in the Palisades wildfire.
“Common Wisdom” reveals the findings of the research-based, scientific study, “The Wisdom Project.” Gabayan interviewed 60 wise individuals, ages 50 to 79, across North America, to get their answers to the age-old question: What is wisdom?
“Resilience, kindness, positivity, spirituality and curiosity are the core life skills in the book that I will rely upon the most for inner strength during this time,” Gabayan, renowned physician, scientist, researcher, who also authored the “Common Wisdom Journal,” told the Journal. “I truly believe that life’s challenges happen for us, not to us, even when it’s hard to see the purpose in the moment.”
For Gabayan, Tuesday, January 7, started out like any other day. After a morning appointment, she returned home around 11am. She started getting texts about 10-minutes later: a 20-acre fire that had just started in the Palisades Highlands.
“Two of my children were at school – Palisades Elementary and Paul Revere Middle School – and were suddenly evacuated; their voices on the phone trembled with confusion and fear,” Gabayan said. “Meanwhile, my other two children were home that day and kept asking me questions I could not answer.”
Less than an hour later, they received mandatory evacuation orders.
“Our world had turned upside down,” she said. “I had to gather what I could, and get out with my family’s support; I have trouble walking, and use a wheelchair, which made this tragic experience even more challenging.”
Gabayan scrambled to pack – “What do you take when your life is measured in minutes?” she said. – and by 2 pm she and her family drove away from the only home they’d ever known. The next night, Gabayan saw a video, confirming that their house was gone.
“Our family of six got this sad news, while we were in Las Vegas at a hotel,” she said. “We had to leave LA to get out of the smoke for health reasons, and felt like nomads.”
Seeking strength, she knew resilience would be the top skill she would rely upon in the coming weeks and months. Gabayan texted her team, “All we can do is remind ourselves of our blessings. That is all.”
Although born Jewish, Gabayan did not actively practice Judaism in her youth.
“My mother rarely spoke about Judaism; her silence was a shield after she witnessed the discrimination her own mother endured for being Jewish,” she said. “My father, a Persian Kurd, brought his own cultural identity into our home, leaving Judaism as more of a whisper than a presence in my childhood.”
It wasn’t until Gabayan got married that she truly began to understand and embrace the faith.
“Together, we raised our four children in a Jewish household, immersing ourselves in the traditions and values that have bound this community together for centuries,” she said.

Gabayan said the Jewish community and her synagogue – Sinai Temple – have been very kind: reaching out, checking in and seeing how they can help.
“The belief in tikkun olam—repairing the world—encourages action, even in the face of adversity,” she said. “It inspires me to find ways to rebuild and move forward.”
In these moments of facing upheaval and uncertainty, Gabayan finds herself drawing mostly from a skill Jews know well: resilience.
“It’s a powerful reminder that no matter how dire things may seem, there’s always a way forward,” she said. “That strength, that refusal to be broken, is something I carry with me as I navigate this challenging loss and recovery process.”
Once you have resilience as your anchor, you can incorporate some of the other elements into your recovery.
“Practicing positivity can be transformative, even in difficult circumstances,” she said. “Look for small blessings, which may include the support of loved ones, the beauty of a sunset or simply the strength you find within yourself to keep going.”
Curiosity also plays an important role. Gabayan suggested people ask themselves what they can learn from the experience and reflect on how it might shape them in ways they cannot yet see.
“Above all, embrace kindness towards yourself and others: be patient with your emotions, be open to help and show compassion for those around you,” she said. “It’s through these small, meaningful actions that the restoration process becomes not just possible, but also empowering.”
In times of upheaval, Gabayan said it’s essential to focus on the wisdom of taking things one step at a time, whether you’ve suffered losses from a wildfire, earthquake, mudslide, hurricane, flood or other tragedies.
“In 2013, I was challenged by the gradual decline of my body,” she said.
After medical obstacles forced her to change course, Gabayan embarked on her wisdom study.
“Please remember that I was very by the book, and a 100% believer in western medicine and scientific research,” Gabayan said. “It took a lot for me to realize that that was a very rigid way of thinking, so I decided to collect insights about what makes someone ‘wise,’ a research project that helped me and could help others achieve inner peace.”
Gabayan said the elements of wisdom aren’t just concepts, they’re lifelines. The belief that things will ultimately work out for the best has always kept her going.
“It’s about choosing faith over fear [and] trusting that the path ahead, no matter how uncertain,” she said.
Learn more at LauraGabayan.com.