Resilient, from the Latin verb resilire, or ‘leaping back,’ originated in the mid 17th century. Not that I was alive then, but it’s still one of my favorites.
Due in large part to my experience with breast cancer three years ago, ‘resilient’ became a household word. My two young daughters, ages 13 and 8, wielded it expertly. It made us feel hopeful, and it still does. We use it freely to remind ourselves to find a useful take-away, a deeper meaning, in every card we’re dealt from life’s mysterious deck.
Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” is one of the most poignant examples of what it means to be resilient. His analytical account of the years he spent imprisoned in concentration camps is a story of man’s ability to find something constructive in any situation. It’s a short book that offers an unparalleled psychological perspective into the inner life of being human. If you haven’t read it, it’s transformational.
Resiliency is an opportunity. It’s a choice to move out of the upset/misery of your external situation and remember that you are innately self-determining. It begins by cultivating a willingness to go inside yourself, to search for a different perspective that can shift your whole way of being in your life. It’s about how you show up each day, and it takes courage and grit.
Kind of like Monday morning. Monday shows up every week all year long, no matter how much grief it gets.
You go, Monday.
*Inspired by a calendar created by Jacquelyn, a Keenan realizing her own fullest potential.
