When my life came crashing down like an axed tree, I was convinced I wasn't resilient.
I thought you either "were" or you "weren't". It was that simple. Either you were like a ball that bounced back, or one that didn't. You didn't have much choice in the matter, and you would know the "verdict" right away.
I'd read the studies. Pondered the factors that led people to be resilient or "not" and concluded that I'd gotten the wrong gene mix. Or perhaps life had knocked me down one too many times and knocked the resilience out of me, along with the wind. Whatever the reason, I hadn't won the resilience lottery. There was "nothing I could do about it"... except fall apart (and believe me, I did.)
There are many reasons for the tree metaphor (you may have noticed!) I use throughout this website. One is that trees can regrow, but they take time. And TLC. Sometimes you can't tell right away if they're going to grow back, and if so, how long it will take or what height and glory they'll regain.
If I could travel back and whisper to that bygone self, I would inform the younger me that I still had some resilience left in me. That I didn't see it, didn't feel it, and honestly -at that point- didn't even want it. I would tell me that getting back up sllloowwwwlllyyyyy didn't mean I would never get back up.
I would regrow slowly.
I might feel jealous of others who grew back quickly. But the point was, I would regrow.
Forever-thanks to F&F, "Leaf", and UP & AT - y'all know who y'all are - for loving me through the seemingly interminable season in which I swore I would never be resilient again.
Turns out, I was wrong.
Do you consider yourself resilient? Is it possible that someday you might look back and discover that you were more resilient than you thought you were?
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