Riding the wave of Resilience

Let’s face it. Life is tough.

But in June, you got this!

We often hear people saying: “If only…”

If…The word “if” examines realities that have not actually happened (past) or which could happen (future)…“If I do this, then…” or “If I didn’t do that, then…” or “If only I could do more of…”

Only…The word “only” examines one possibility…“The only thing that…” or “Only you…”

If. Only.

Together these two words examine the past or future within the framework of one possible scenario.

It can be good to reflect on things from one perspective when exploring scenarios in our lives.

However, the danger is that we tend to actually expend energy not just contemplating it but boxing it neatly, owning it and building our present realities on top of it.

The box of one scenario based on our perceptions of the past or future can easily become the foundation of our next steps.

“If only” does not seem like a solid present foundation. And so logic may lead us to wonder that stepping or jumping off an empty box is either going to flatten the box and leave us right where we were or make that jump a stumble.. stumble towards another spot we weren’t really intending to be.

Florence School Schinn in her short yet deeply profound book “The Game of Life and How to Play it” states: “Man can only receive what he sees himself receiving”

What you see for yourself is what you end up putting into that box.

And so here is the thing… A lot of us struggle to cope with the realities we build for ourselves based on our perceived wants. How then can we even contemplate steering our ship through moments which call for navigating uncertain waters? The situations we believe we “did not” want, raising the questions of

“What do you want? What do you see yourself receiving?”

Florence wrote a very short book jam packed full of powerful truths about our existence in which she says it’s very simple really. Ultimately life is a game.

You need to just know how to play it or it will play you.

That little white booklet with small black print in the board game box - the set of rules.

These are designed to teach you:

1) how to play the game, and

2) how to handle the exceptions (the “if’s”).

We all start the game because if you are reading this, you were born into the game. You may be playfully enjoying it or feeling like you lost in the dark wondering how you ended up on real life Cluedo.

But either way, if you continue to choose to play the game, this will only be dependent on whether you are motivated to do so. Even when it gets tough. Especially when it gets tough.

There are moments in which we feel like we are falling off the board, out of control and uncertain where to step next.

Somewhere along the line, we rolled the high dice on life, we made certain decisions based on our fellow players’ recommendations when they didn’t feel right, we lived on the edges of the exceptions and in the process we lost sight of where our little yellow, red or blue figurine is on the board.

We forgot the rules.

We hear Florence again reminding us that “the game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy”

Such truth.

But Florence probably didn’t just wake up one day and feel this truth. She understood it. And in order to write a succinct book so powerfully as she did, she had to have felt the tough moments to explain how to get through them.

It’s called RESILIENCE.

Thank you Dallas for the theme that reminds us of a way of being that’s flexible and alive, bouncing with the stuff of survival. Persevering in the face of hardship is not easy.

And so that’s okay. It’s part of the game. You breathe, acknowledge that you played yourself into a difficult space and then let the wave ride you back onto the board and take stock of where you are, how far you have come and where you still need to go.

As Dallas described it: To heal, to grieve, to bend but not break? It requires time and dedication to build these muscles of resilience. “It’s a skill set we work on throughout our lives.”

It calls on us to be emotionally aware and not just understand that life has challenges, but be willing to accept them to overcome them. It calls on us to ask the right questions of our history of boxes and what we put in them.

Friedrich Nietzsche said: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

And so, as you find yourself in the episode of June 2021, are you finding yourself flattening right back to where you were? Or are you building solid present and purposeful foundations from where you can launch to play in this beautiful and fun game?

Flex those resilience muscles and launch yourself into a new future - whatever it might hold!

Ready?

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Riding the wave of Resilience

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