I’m peaceful because my dreams aren’t dragging me around anymore up and down the street. I’m not worried about where I’m going to end up after graduate school because I’m already there. At one point in time there were things that I thought defined me; such as my career, my friends and my identity. After they began to slowly melt away; all that was left was someone very insecure.

Without that definition, I found myself in free fall without a foundation that secured my grounding. My first thought was who am I without these things that tell me. One day I work up and suddenly my phone wasn’t ringing off the hook, there were no letter grades coming in that told me I was doing something right and there were no affirmations to tell me my life had meaning.

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 that I once frequented and the things that moved me like the possibility that a new day presents. These external markers have mostly faded; being replaced by silence and rediscovery that often changes with each decade.

This newly found inner strength reminds me of the nature of flora: some bloom through sidewalk cracks, some bloom after the fire and others remain dormant until the rain arrives. Much like these plants and flowers; I became better at adjusting to adverse conditions and sometimes that meant anticipating them; whether it was job loss, health ailments or financial hardship.

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 it became apparent that life was mostly meant to be helpful not harmful.

What I’ve learned is that resilience is about learning; bending with the wind, rooting deeper during the storm and growing in the shade. These are the ways that we continue to become and the lesson is best taken from the natural world around us. In fact, this is how we further our own evolution; making us part of a diverse species that contributes to the ecosystem of survival.