“The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” George C. Scott
Spiritual resiliency is our natural state of being even if as adults we no longer experience its essence in our everyday lives. As young children, we clearly trusted this ability to transcend as spirit, never doubting our innate power to handle or lift out of any situation. Even if we didn’t understand how spirit lifted us, we knew and felt its truth through our open hearts, regardless of our circumstances. Open and optimistic, we had not yet acquired the adult mindsets and beliefs that would erode an absolute trust that we could rise above any difficult situation.
After checking every box on a list of life’s most stressful events, I realized how resilient the human spirit could be. It wasn’t easy losing my mother early in life to drug use, experiencing physical neglect and sexual abuse, or being in the wake of my stepmother’s mental illness. Why was my experience different from others who had been crippled or left devastated by such events? I realized it was my spiritual resiliency. Like a periscope, I lifted up and out of the human process and recognized my human experiences as stepping stones to my personal transformation. Each one showed me how to trust myself and my connection to a divine source and to know that I would be OK no matter what it looked like at the time.
Spiritual resiliency has always been my closest companion. I remember the day that I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Until this point, I usually bounced quickly incorporating the information I had gleaned from such challenges as divorce, single parenting, and trying to locate my long lost mother. As a woman, healer, mother, and partner, the vulnerability of breast cancer had rocked my world more than anything I had ever experienced before. Like the resuscitation paddles that jump starts our heart back to life, this vulnerability jolted my heart bringing me out of the comfy cozy world I had created. It had turned me upside down and inside out; yet, I knew that here was the spiritual journey, the path of transformation being set out in front of me.
Beautifully said, Debra. Resiliency is the natural state of the soul, along with love and peace and joy.
We all create our realities and decide how to experience life, and to live it joyfully, we must begin by owning it. From there, we learn to discover the true magnificence of our own Light.
We all have this great power to heal ourselves and even others. The healing Light is a gift for us to discover and learn to tap into to heal the world.
The Light in me honours the Light in you. I see you.
xox
Thank you for your heartfelt message Shelley. the light in me always honors the light in you. Hugs
Debra thank you for sharing your personal story of spiritual resilience with us! Choosing to put awareness on and taking resposibility for our thoughts, choices, and inner experience is truly a transformational process and you articulated it so well in the story of your post. This resonates with me deeply. A beautiful and important message.
Big hugs!
Brandy
Thanks Brandy for your heartfelt message and for supporting me and this conversation with your beautiful being. Hugs and blessings
What a powerful post Debra! I so connected with your definition of spiritual resiliency including “seeing the silver lining in all life’s challenges.” What courage and determination you have shown throughout your life when faced with so many challenging situations! I admire your courage, fortitude, optimism and your ability to share your vulnerability and learnings so eloquently.
Love this statement: “Like a periscope I lifted up and out of the human process and recognized my human experiences as stepping stones to my personal transformation.” I so agree that we are the “miracles of creation” and have the ability to heal ourselves from the inside out. This is an important message for all women and mean as well to hear and understand. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Pam for responding to my post and sharing your encouragement. Yes it did take courage on this journey of wellness as you have lovingly reminded me. Lots of blessings and love
As you say we are all a miracle of creation. Resiliency to me walks hand in hand with courage. We are here to expand our consciousness in many ways through the great qualities of love – sending waves of love from my heart to yours! 🙂
Thank you Deb for your insightful comment. Yes resiliency does walk hand in hand with courage. Great point and a wonderful reminder. Thanks for being and waves of love back atcha 🙂
For me resiliency is my inner divine reminding my physical being that we are one — over and over and over and over! Beautiful post!
Debra, this is such an inspiring post! You and I have much in common. It is so great to read about you taking control of your thoughts and healing. I especially like how you wrote, “it is not only possible but probable that I could raise my energy level to the vibration of love where miracles occur.” Love IS where miracles occur…it is so fabulous that you were able to get there instead of wallowing as a victim!
It’s so wonderful to get to know you better Deanna. Yes we do have a lot in common and Love is the space where miracles occur! Thank you for your wisdom and lightful presence. Hugs and blessings Debra
Beautifully said and so encouraging. We have to take control of our thoughts and learn to believe beyond what we have been made to believe. We have so much more power than we will ever understand.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back after loss or trauma. Spiritual resilience adds the unseen component of faith and your article reminds me of the story of Ruth (old testament Ruth) – talk about a spiritually resilient woman! Your story is my story. Different players, different circumstance, but we’ve both got spiritual resilience in spades!
What came to mind as I finished reading this post were the lyrics to Elton John’s song “I’m still standing.” Like you, I have experienced some major upheaval in my life and I agree that spiritual resiliency has kept me both sane and strong but I didn’t have a name for it. I love your discussion of it here. I often think about emotional resiliency but this is different, more connected and grounded to my truth. Thanks for sharing your story so authentically with all of us, Debra.
Minette
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Minette Riordan, Ph.D.
CEO, MinetteRiordan.com
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Mmmm, I know this resiliency in a new and deeper way myself. The unexpected illness, the two hospitalizations, the life-threatening infections… brought a new opening, a new way of seeing, a new way of thinking…
Major spiritual changes. I see and experience gratitude in a whole new way. The arena that contains the small stuff (as in “Don’t sweat the…”) has grown huge; I’m much less attached to annoyance.
Thanks for showing me I’m not alone.
Blessed be…
Sue
Thank you for sharing your experience Sue. Yes the arena of “small stuff” has definitely grown in my life too. There’s not much that can’t go in there now. Yay Hugs and blessings
Beautifully stated. I agree that we are all a miracle of creation and resonate fully with your closing sentence. “Standing in my own light, I moved beyond any predetermined cause and effect result and into a new sense of power and creation.” YES!
Shann thank you for your insightful comment. Yes we are the miracle of creation and when we know this in our hearts we can begin to live it. Hugs and blessings