On top of one of my many bookcases in my living room
stands a glass vase with a bunch of tulips in it.
One morning, while sitting on the couch and
having my morning coffee, I suddenly noticed
how the light streaming through the opened
front door fell on the tulips in such a way that suddenly
they seemed luminous.
Although not really a ''flower'' sort of person, I couldn't
help but be taken in by the beauty of the flowers.
I decided to take a photo of the tulips and then use the photo
as a reference to be used later for a water colour painting.
However, by the time I had my camera at the ready, the light
had changed and the luminosity dissipated.
Well, perhaps I can find another way to capture the
beauty of the tulips, I thought.
The above image is the result of ''another way''.
Things change. Often in spite of meticulous preparations
and planning. Being able to come up with ''another way'',
to be flexible, to be able to think on one's feet, to be able to
''swivel'' one's perspectives, and to be resilient, is in my view
a pre requisite for ''survival'' these days. (Perhaps this
has always been the case, but the speed with which
technology is regularly changing life as we know it,
I think a bit of resilience can often prove to be quite helpful.)
Resilience is important.
Resilience is that which makes us get up after we've
had a "fall'', whether we ''fell'' physically, emotionally,
psychologically or ''spiritually''.
Resiliency can be learned, acquired, and honed, but
according to some in ''the know'', it's not something we are born with.
We can however, all develop and build up our resiliency.
Like any other skill, resilience can be improved with practice.
Perhaps a good beginning point for developing our resilience is to
give a thought to how we usually respond when we are faced with
hardships and difficulties.
Do we tend to put on a brave face and swallow our emotions, do we
pretend that ''all is well'', do we fall apart, do we ruminate,
do we talk about it with someone, or do we just throw our hands
in the air and give up?
Being aware of how we think about difficulties and
challenges is in my view paramount when it comes
to developing resilience.
For instance:
Change is an inevitable part of life, do you fight it
or accept it?
Does your negative(unhelpful) thoughts supersede your
positive(helpful) thoughts?
Are you as aware of your strength's as your weaknesses?
Do you tend to ruminate on your ''failures'' rather then
your accomplishments?
''As you think, so shall you be.''
Words penned by Wayne W. Dyer.
Finding life-affirming ways to cope with difficult life
experiences builds/develops resilience.
(Life-affirming as in: a flexible attitude, an open mind, using
positive self-affirmations(I can do this), getting support from
friends/relatives, owning your emotions, and remembering
all the times you've faced difficulties and got through them.)
''Eventually, she decided to come out of the cupboard.
Hands still shaking, knee's still wobbly, heart still pounding.
Sun light greeted her, nay, almost blinded her,
as she opened her salt encrusted eyes
and braved a brand new day.'' (Citizen Z)
''A crisis is a great teacher. So, learn to love your crisis.
Going through it with an acceptance, and a seeking spirit,
you will emerge stronger, wiser and happy.''
(AVIS Viswanathan)
about the image: a photo shot with an old Canon IXUS,
minimal editing
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