MaXIMIze - Are You Resilient?

Wow! I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted to this blog!

Today's topic - Resiliency - comes from recent events that is some ways echo past events. And yes, resiliency is a current buzzword that, like so many others over the years, is putting a new coat of paint on a recurring topic.

Simply put, resiliency is one's ability to bounce back from the stressors life throws at us. Or, how I wrote it in my morning journal scribblings yesterday, how many fires you can deal with before setting yourself on fire and burning out.

Those of you who are loyal readers know I sometimes like to go to the trusty, slightly dusty, dictionary to get to the roots and stems of words. So here is what The Merriam-Webster Dictionary from 2004 had to say about resiliency. Or rather about resilience, since resiliency is the ability to be resilient.

     1. The ability of a body to regain its original size and shape after being compressed, bent, or stretched.

     2. An ability to recover from or adjust easily to change or misfortune.

The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus from 1989 has elastic as a synonym for resilience - and the meanings noted there are:

     1. Able to withstand strain without being permanently affected or injured.

     2. Able to recover quickly from depression and maintain high spirits.

Now, when I think of elastic, I think of a rubber band. Rubber bands are made to stretch and then bounce back to their original shapes. However, you can only do that with a rubber band for so long before it breaks. We humans aren't so different from those poor rubber bands.We too have our limits beyond which we will break.

However, we have the capability of recognizing those limits and, unless outside events crash in on us too heavily, honoring those limits and practicing extreme self-care.

We have the ability to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and keep on living life not matter how hard it seems at the moment. And that's how we need to take life sometimes - moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. Being focused in the present moment and acknowledging and honoring the feelings of that moment can help us to be more resilient as well.

So for all those feeling overwhelmed by the events in your life right now, stop, breathe, acknowledge the stress, focus on the present, and continue to move through your life moment by precious moment.

Until next time (which I hope won't be another three months from now!), Namaste!