I am peaceful because my dreams aren’t dragging me around anymore, I’m not worried about where I’m going to end up after graduate school because I’m already there. Without that definition, I find myself in free fall without a foundation that secures mentally, spiritually or emotionally- leaving me groundless.
According to Pema Chrodron’s book When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, "To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be thrown out of the nest.” For me, this translates to being stripped of who I thought I was to become who I am. This experience, despite how challenging has left me in sensed.
A lot of what use to define me has gone away not only old aspirations but also the brightness of my eyes that reflected my inner spark, the places I once frequented and the things that moved me. These external markers have faded; being replaced by resolve, in a whole new myriad of life complexities and challenges.
This resilience reminds me about the nature of flora: some bloom through sidewalk cracks, some bloom after fire and others remain dormant until the rain arrives. Much like these plants and flowers; I’ve become better at adjusting to circumstances; whether it’s job loss, death of a loved one or health ailments.
There is something to be said for the ability to thrive in the middle of a crisis; this is often where the deepest transformation happens including spiritual growth and consciousness. It takes self-awareness to find or see the purpose in change, which is not as easy as it seems but existence is meant to be helpful not harmful, in many instances.
What I’ve learned is that resilience is about bending with the wind, rooting deeper during the storm and growing in the shade. These are ways of how we continue to become and the lesson is best taken from the natural world. This is how we further our own evolution; making us part of a diverse species that contributes to the ecosystem of survival.