Resilience has become a very hot topic over the last two years.
It kind of became a trend word a while before that too to be honest. There have been heaps of fabulous courses and programs to learn how to build it. .
But it’s our ancestors and indigenous who have known how to practice this for centuries.
Let’s face it, life these days for the majority of us in the western world is a breeze in the park. Compared to what it was centuries ago that is. And our indigenous even these days need a ton more strength and flexibility than many of us do.
I’m not saying that’s the case for everyone, just for the majority of us. That is until the global crisis came along a couple of years ago.
Just the other day a beautiful spiritual friend of mine sent me an uplifting and inspirational post. It contained the loving words of Hopi Indian Chief White Eagle and his insights on the current pandemic.
The simplicity of his comments made such an impact on me, I wanted to share them wider
“This moment that humanity is living through can be considered a door or a hole. The decision to fall into the hole or go through the door is yours.If you consume information 24 hours a day, with negative energy, constantly nervous, with pessimism, you will fall into this hole.
But if you take the opportunity to look at yourself, to rethink life and death, to take care of yourself and others, you will go through the door.
Take care of your home, take care of your body. Connect with your spiritual home. When you take care of yourself, you take care of others at the same time.
Do not underestimate the spiritual dimension of this crisis. Adopt the perspective of an eagle that sees everything from above with a broader vision.
There is a social demand in this crisis, but also a spiritual demand. The two go hand in hand. Without the social dimension, we fall into fanaticism. Without the spiritual dimension, we fall into pessimism and futility.
You are prepared to go through this crisis.
Grab your toolbox and use all the tools at your disposal. Learn to resist by the example of the Indian and African peoples: we have been and continue to be exterminated.
* But we never stopped singing, dancing, lighting fires and having joy.
Don’t feel guilty for feeling lucky in these difficult times. Being sad and without energy doesn’t help at all.
* Resilience is resilience through joy!
You have the right to be strong and positive. You have to maintain a beautiful, cheerful and bright posture.This has nothing to do with alienation (ignorance of the world). It is a strategy of resistance.
When we walk in the door, we have a new view of the world because we have faced our fears and difficulties.
This is what you can do now:
– Serenity in the storm,
– Keep calm, meditate daily,
– Make a habit of encountering the sacred every day.Demonstrate resilience through art, joy, trust and love.”
– Hopi Indian Chief White Eagle –
It’s so easy to fall into a negative trance and get stuck in the hole. In fact it requires no effort at all. All you need to do is sit watching the news on TV, reading newspapers and talking incessantly about the world’s problems. Self righteously stating who is right, who is wrong and who is better.
A few days of doing this will see us right down the rabbit hole with a slippery slope that seems too hard to climb out of.
The thing is, it’s not just a global crisis that this applies to. It has an impact on any crisis or transition. For example; both quarter life and mid life have been described as crisis points.
Quarter life is the time when your friends are getting married, buying houses or having children. You might see magazines that portray happy families, watch TV shows that show the same. And you also might be sick of listening to friends talking incessantly about it. If you’re not ready for that step yet, it may make you think there’s something wrong with you. As you focus on this, your emotional state declines.
And it’s the same with midlife. If you’re reading magazines that value youth and watching TV shows and news reports that show the same. And if your friends are all talking about how old they feel and how they missed that promotion because of their age you’re going to fall down the hole and feel like the best part of life is behind you.
In both of these cases, by doing activities that raise your emotional state you will have the resilience to walk boldly through the door of transition.
Caring for your physical body builds resilience
Yep, it’s a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual thing!
Make sure your diet is balanced mainly consisting of whole fresh foods. Diets high in sugar have a negative impact on your nervous system. As does too much alcohol and stimulants.
Regular exercise is also essential if we want to be strong and resilient. We need to be exercising at least three times each week and preferably outdoors if we can. Nature and fresh air has such a positive impact on our emotional state. And those times when you don’t feel like it is when you need to do it the most.
Managing your mind builds flexibility
It’s vital to stay away from negative influences as much as possible. This means turning off the news on TV because it is so hypnotic. If you read headlines on magazine covers or newspapers that trigger you, walk away from them. Choose your own independent sources to educate and keep you updated. There are tons available if you make the time to look.
And it’s the same with conversations. If a topic triggers you then change the subject, it’s that simple. Focus on things that make you feel good instead.
Acknowledging your emotions allows acceptance
Acceptance doesn’t mean that you’re happy about whatever has happened. All it means is that you’re not prepared to let it affect you emotionally anymore. And this all begins with acknowledging your emotions.
So many of us have been taught that it’s not okay to express anger or we’re embarrassed to admit that we are sad. All emotions are perfectly normal. Resilience is acknowledging our emotions and feeling them; this is a sign of strength. As we do this we allow them to pass and that brings acceptance. We’re then in a far better position to change things.
Nurturing your spirit regularly makes resilience sustainable
This means allowing ourselves to be in a regular spiritual practice like prayer, meditation, yoga, TaiChi or spending time in nature for example. Those with the greatest faith seem to be the most resilient.
It also means doing activities that are important to us personally and bring us joy. This may be different for everyone. For instance; singing, dancing, playing music, writing, painting and other ways of creating. It also means fulfilling social needs like spending time with family and loved ones, being with likeminded and uplifting friends. And that might mean taking the lead on this and reaching out to them first.
Follow their wise lead
When you see how simplistic and effective these practices are in building resilience you will understand why many of them have been rituals for hundreds of years.
By following the lead of our ancestors and wise guidance from our indigenous now we can survive any crisis or transition and walk strongly through the door of change.