Reflections

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  1. S
    Sarah B

    By facing illness, both my own and of ones I love, and learning how to use this as an opportunity to deepen my connects and reflect on what really matters in my life. And the things that really matter are not shakable.

    10 months ago
  2. Kevin

    By showing up each and every day for 73 years! That’s 73 years of learning about the realities and resilience of life itself.

    10 months ago
  3. O.Christina

    Meeting everyone and everything in loving kindness embraces all. Have a good evening you all, and beyond.

    10 months ago
  4. Banning

    I have a friend that has face a lot of adversity in their life and they’re one of the strongest and toughest people I know. They’ve taught me that you just have to keep pushing and moving forward and to fight the darkness no matter what.

    10 months ago
  5. Nannette

    Learning about resilience means you have lived some adversity…some sorrow- or some heartache…or perhaps simply being an observer of someone else’s life. You don’t live to be 70 having not experienced some difficult life events. I lost my mother when I was 14- and had to learn overnight to be strong…to figure out the next step in my life. It took over 2 years…but the next step was leaving my father…it broke my heart- but he was an alcoholic and was not prepared to give up that for me…I supported myself in some manner at that time…and embracing my new life of living with my brother and his family…It was the best ever!! I finished high school…went to nursing school…by the grace of God- I had a scholarship and had worked to get thru nusing school. I had a good life… At the age of 40; my partner and I went to Somalia as nurses…he was an ex Army Paratrooper…and an ER/ICU nurse…I was an OR nurse. We helped the people of Baidoa, Somalia for a year and then headed back to the US. Our time in Somalia taught us alot about life and resiliency…People who had nothing…absolutely nothing just wanted to live…and did the best they could. In the US our lives soon separated…another heartache for me…and a miscarriage before…But…we get up- we have a life to live. We have things to do…people to help. I am now in my early 70’s …I have a wonderful husband ….who also has traveled the road of resilience. We are in this together…I know we will suffer loss and sadness at some time..but for now…we have happiness and Blessings.
    Last year we cut some of the timber on our land…as many of the old trees were falling…some people frown upon cutting the trees…but now– there is fresh growth in the forest…a home for some critters that were not there before..an openess for different species of birds. From ashes, comes new life. For everything there is a time……. Thank you all for all of your thoughts…and wisdom. Thank you, Friends.

    10 months ago
    1. Joseph McCann

      Loving kindness to you and yours and thank you, Dear Nannette.

      10 months ago
  6. Barb C

    From my parents, who grew up poor during the Depression. From my mom in particular, whom I credit with my general default setting of “things have a way of working themselves out”. From the miscarriages I had between my first and second daughters, including an early miscarriage of a twin for daughter #2 (apparently far more common than we knew before the days of early ultrasounds). At one point I thought I would have an only child, as my body did what it needed to do for unsuccessful pregnancies. From my own bouncing back or forging ahead, whatever it took, to move forward into the future after pain. From the growing things that find their way through and around stones and cement to bloom. In that spirit, sharing this image of a kindergarten class’s experiment: https://streetartutopia.com/2023/04/15/kindergarten-children-dropped-seeds-in-the-crack-of-the-sidewalk-to-see-what-would-happen/.

    10 months ago
  7. Carol

    In what ways have I learned about the resilience of life?

    I shall start with a definition of resilience I found on line: “Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Being resilient does not mean a person doesn’t experience stress, emotional upheaval, and suffering. Resilience involves the ability to work through emotional pain and suffering.”

    I don’t know if this answers the question but I was born a “blue baby.” That’s what they called a child born of parents with the RH factor–one parent with positive blood and the other with negative blood. I was negative like my Dad but Mom was positive and her blood was attacking mine. In those days, you either survived or you didn’t. There were no special vaccines, medical procedures, etc. in the small mid-western town in which I was born. So I guess I struggled to be here. Then as a child, I struggled to survive bullying. I struggled to survive a religious dogma that taught me I had to be perfect or God would not love me. Just like everyone sharing here, I could go on and on describing the challenges I have faced. But, today after hanging around for over 80 years, I have been blessed with the realization that Life is trustworthy and creation is one. As charlie T said yesterday, there is no “other.” If life is trustworthy so am I. What a relief to know that I am enough.

    The prefix “re” from the Latin can mean “again and again” or “back or backward” to indicate withdrawal or a backward motion. Re-silience is the returning to or reminder that Life is about letting not getting and I can depend on it to show me a way when I let it be…My job is willingness…I am Life…You are Life and Life is resilient.

    .

    10 months ago
    1. Charlie T

      “My job is willingness”
      I love this. Thank you. 🙏

      10 months ago
    2. Barb C

      Love the unpacking of the word itself. Thank you.

      10 months ago
  8. NJB

    I updated my profile picture in response. I took this picture on a hike this week. Resilience is all around us. No matter how hard things get, we can continue to learn and grow.

    10 months ago
  9. Charlie T

    I’m observing flora and fauna rebounding,
    since the devastating fires we had here, a
    few years ago. The mighty Redwood trees
    in particular. Amazing.
    I’ve watched friends recover from the
    depths of addiction, when I thought there
    was no hope left.
    And personally, I’ve been to some pretty
    dark and hopeless places, only to somehow
    find light and life.
    It’s a difficult lesson, that I seem to have to
    learn over and over again.

    10 months ago
    1. Carol

      Charlie T, Yes, over and over again. We do make progress but in many ways it’s an illusion.

      10 months ago
    2. A
      Ana Maria

      You are so inspiring. . I thank you!!

      10 months ago
  10. sunnypatti

    I’ve witnessed and been a part of people coming together after a hurricane. Homes destroyed, trees and other debris everywhere… and people come to help each other get back up, and it’s a beautiful thing. When I worked at Whole Foods and we went thru big storms and other power outages, I was part of a crew that came together to clean everything up, clear out what needed to go, give away what could be salvaged, and set back up for business as usual. Life happens. Storms happen. There are hard times and there are easy times… if we trust the process and do our parts to assist the process, we keep going. Life moves on and we live and learn along the way.

    10 months ago
  11. D
    Don

    Hope dwells in all of us. Seems we never notice it during our busy days but is there, like a spring, is always flowing and giving. That hope is behind resilience. It is what pushes us forward in our most difficult times. When we think we have nothing, we always have hope and resilience which we can share with others.

    10 months ago
  12. Joseph McCann

    I have lived through and witnessed the drought of tree ring record in 2002. Even mature cottonwoods died. Bark beetles pounced upon the situation and killed hundreds if not thousands of square miles of spruce, lodgepole and pinon. Some smaller ones survived. Then came wildfires filling the sky with smoke. Dendrologists say the ground must be bone dry at least 16 feet deep for a mature cottonwoods to die. 2003 was not much better. The arid southwest is in what has been called a megadrought, aridification in an already arid place, that is currently at 20 years now. I have seen the resilience of the earth when moisture comes back. We have had some good years in between and some dry, but none as dry as 2002. This year is a wet one. Agua es Vida. Water is Life. Namaste.

    10 months ago
    1. A
      Ana Maria

      What a powerful picture you present to us. Yes, Agua es vida! I live in the Pacific Northwest, rain is with us for about nine months of the year. The fires have been devastating. Our county had 12 days of smoke last year, impossible to go outside. The rain brings a lot of small shrubs and they fuel the fire even more as it devastes the old beautiful evergreens in our area. I pray for a calmer Summer for all of us.

      10 months ago
  13. Laura

    Nature is always bringing forth new life — plants growing up through cracks in the sidewalks, trees that seem to have taken root through solid rock, flowers that endure sometimes harsh conditions in spring.
    Reminds me of a line from the original “Jurassic Park” movie, “Life finds a way.”

    10 months ago
  14. W
    WLS

    Life is a cycle. My gardens are an excellent reminder. Everything changes through the seasons. Although the middle of winter where I live can look extremely bleak, spring is not far away. In my lifetime, every season has fulfilled the commitment to provide what is needed. Some years there is more, some years there is less. Some plants aren’t where I planted them but they are where they are in their preferred environment. So many lessons on life resiliency right outside my window.

    10 months ago
  15. Carla

    Between the Pandemic and the civil unrest in the Twin Cities late May, 2020, I was at the brink of emotional, physical, and spiritual collapse. It helped to watch a few old World War II family drama movies. It reminded me, many survived. They were changed but they survived. It was hard to ask for help. Grace sprung within bringing a renewal of inner tenacity. Phoenix energy is a Divine Blessing.

    10 months ago
    1. Josie

      “Phoenix energy is a Divine Blessing.” Defintely a keeper. Thanks, Carla.

      10 months ago
    2. Joseph McCann

      Phoenix energy is a Divine Blessing. I am going to write that line down in my notebook of quotes. Thank you Carla.

      10 months ago
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