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Roots

Last autumn, I often caught myself looking at the strong trees in the nearby park bending in the wind and losing their leaves in its strength, yet remaining solidly grounded.

And each time, it made me think of what a yoga teacher mentioned in one of her classes, reminding us to stay focused but not rigid. She said that if a tree would stay rigid in the wind, it would break. It needs to be well rooted yet flexible, it needs to be resilient.

I then thought, what does resilience consist of for us humans? How can it give us both the necessary roots and the flexibility to withstand the stormy phases in our lives?

If the litteral or physical meaning of resilience in the dictionary is “the power or ability of a material to return to its original form or position after being bent, compressed or stretched”, is the ability ”to adjust to or recover readily from illness, adversity, or major life changes” for people.

But what does it really consist of? Is it an inherited trait we are born with, or can we build it as we go? If we can build or strengthen it, how do we go about it?

After scanning many resources on this topic, I would like to share with you this article from the APA (American Psychological Association), which gives a clear insight into this complex yet necessary tool to better root ourselves in the face of the unavoidable adversity of our human experience.

Picture: Christian Rohlfs – White Beeches in Fall, 1910, US National Gallery of Art