Summer is here, <<First Name>>!
The sun shineth again - I was ready to start building an ark! So many days of heavy rain and darkness had me wondering if I should bring out my light therapy lamp!
As is my habit…...I sit on a red exercise ball every morning and meditate with a view of my backyard and the Nature Conservation area beyond. On about five occasions, I have seen a small member of the box turtle family lifting its head and courageously climbing up the steep hill of my back yard - a yard too steep for us to safely mow the grass.
I am amazed by the strength and sense of direction this turtle (tarpon) has displayed…..repeatedly. Recently, he/she attempted to climb over a very tall landscaping brick and fell backward onto his hard shell. Should I leave my perch and rescue it? If I didn’t do it, would another animal come to the rescue? Surely this has happened before in the life of all turtles?!?!? This was an exciting event in my morning ritual! I watched as he/she stretched its head and neck, and the legs and tail on one side, just enough to tip itself over to recovery! This is resilience!
 Let me backtrack a little in the story, not only have I seen this turtle climb through the grass of my backyard…….I found it nestled in the ground next to my front door. How did it know to come here - what kind of GPS does this creature have? And then there were two. Miraculous! This is how Mother Nature works.
What does it mean to be intentionally resilient?
Lesson 1: Accept
"For her new book " Rising Strong," social worker and bestselling author Brené Brown set out to determine what resilient people have in common.
Her discovery, after many hours of interviews?
It's all about a "tolerance for discomfort," she says."
https://www.businessinsider.com/brene-brown-on-resilience-2015-8
Accept that discomfort, challenges and setbacks are a natural part of life - an expected occurrence on A Hero’s Journey ( Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz). Often times, we make a big decision, take a significant risk and then……..all hell breaks loose - expect it, be ready for it!
Lesson 2: Stay Curious
"Sometimes finding the solution to problems we face in life is all about asking the right questions.
Instead of asking yourself the dead-end question, "What's wrong with me," you may try asking yourself,
"What is it that's trying to break through in me? What is it that's trying to emerge?"
The reason these questions are so powerful is because often, when we find ourselves in a state of emotional emergency, we want to contract and hide. These alternate questions actually do the opposite. They challenge us to look underneath that state of despair for something else.
These alternate questions force us to expand and welcome something new.
And this new thing that's trying to emerge is our authentic self. It's our creativity. It's growth and breakthrough." Gay & Kate Hendricks
https://www.heartsintrueharmony.com/m/email/nl/the-breakthrough-strategy-to-heal-self-esteem.html?s=14785&e=1&cid=ZZZ30N&lid=1&sbid=tjCz
Lesson 3 Do it ANYWAY - Follow Your Bliss!
One of my all-time favorite books - Anyway, The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent. M Keith was so good that Mother Theresa inscribed them on a wall in Calcutta!
The Paradoxical Commandments by Dr. Kent M. Keith
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001
http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/
Take a minute to enjoy the hit song “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again” from Swing Time (1936) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGUsRGuZb6k
In the Spirit of Strengths,
Jennifer
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