If you pay any attention to the news, it is easy to feel like we are moving headfirst into the apocalypse, and fall into a perpetual state of grief around the suffering and horrors that occur at every moment.  Within the  microcosm of our own lives, we can also be thrown some major curveballs that send us into a tailspin of our own internal suffering, making it hard to even function.  I used to have a very limited capacity to cope with trauma, and found the overwhelm of the suffering of the world to be crippling.  It wouldn’t take much for me to end up paralyzed in the fetal position.  And then… life happens, you get pushed to your limit, well past your edges, and there lies a choice; to keep falling, or rise up.  These are the times – when your back is against the wall – when you can really see the stuff you are made of.

I am beginning to see resilience as an embodied practice.  It is born from a place of eternal wisdom and strength, and lies within us all… like most things, it takes practice, determination, and humility.

It is practicing self-care like it’s your fucking job (because it is) so you can be ready to catch those curveballs with your bare hands, and adapt to what was thrown at you.

It is the ability to embody the Phoenix; to let it all burn, and then rise from the ashes in all of your glory, transformed and steadfast in your strength and beauty.

It is looking all of your bullshit straight in the eye and saying: no more.

It is asking for help when you need it, and accepting the love and support that is offered to you.

It is relentlessly having your own back, and showing up for yourself, so that you can in turn show up for the world around you… and use your clarity and gifts to make this world a better place for everyone.

It is learning to embrace, and maybe even love the changes, challenges, and even the tragedies that really put you to the test.  It is not always easy to feel gratitude when the whole world seems to be crumbling around you… but I can assure you, you can handle more than you realize, and will come out of the other side ready to soar.

As alway… humbled, grateful, in awe of this journey.