Let's embark on my own personal story. One of suffering, fear and ultimately resiliency. One where I felt at times the world around me crumbling and at other times a world of light. If you care to join me, keep on reading. If you care to perhaps be inspired, read on. If you care to know that it is possible to go from despair to hope, continue to read on.
Pain Point #1 The first instance where resiliency showed up was when my husband left me and my young children. It majorly sucked and divorce is one of the top 5 traumatic stressors in life. For basic survival, I shouldered my way through navigating a divorce and holding up a family. I don't think at the time, I thought I was being resilient. I just did what I had to do. Hindsight is 20/20 and now I know that my ability to bounce back and even flourish is a result of resiliency. But that knowing came later on.
Pain Point #2 My breast cancer diagnosis was my next testing ground. While I still had to "soldier on" with so much between diagnosis, treatment plans and navigating the healthcare system, this time was different. I was now a full time yoga teacher and I had a number of practices that would serve me during this time. Yoga was my refuge Yoga was my healing. Yoga would bring me back to health.
This was for me being resilient. The ebbs and flows of a cancer diagnosis and treatment were met with compassion, moments of joy, gratitude, and release. As much as I needed to be strong and push through, I also needed to be gentle and forgiving. Moments of joy were also met with moments of fear. But time and time again, I came back to what I would call my "home".
Pain Point #3 It would be 11 years later after the breast cancer diagnosis, that they found cancer in my colon. Somehow I knew that I would be okay. But I really needed more support this time as the diagnosis was Stage 4. Even though I had my yoga tools, I also found that energy healing, supplements and counseling were a necessity. But what I forgot was that many of the tools were already within me. So I brought them in too and that's where the juice is.
I think resiliency is all about one's inner resources and how you apply them. The inner resources that I used were the kind that picked me up when I was down. They were the kind of resource where I remembered that I was whole and not this disease or that condition. They were the kind of resource that upon waking I was grateful for another day to be alive and then got out of bed. They were the kind of resource where I met myself where I was at and gave myself permission to rest or set boundaries. My orientation around having cancer was one of positivity and that changed everything.
I transformed in those moments from despair to hope. I found that there was more to gain than to lose. Maybe that wasn't the case at the beginning of my story, as I didn't realize that my inner resources were actually working. And yes, hindsight is 20/20 but if someone else's story can support your own healing journey, I say listen in and read on. Stories can be powerful catalysts for change and of course for establishing your own resiliency. I hope that you made it to the end of my personal story so far.
Photo Credit: Drop the Label Movement (Unsplash)
Diane, what an inspiring story! You are the definition of resilience.