We all experience times of ease and times of hardship. Our initial preference is always for the moments of life that feel immediately wonderful. But moments of hardship offer a path of building resilience if we can learn to embrace them, as opposed to resist them.

It is the ability to recover and grow stronger from disturbance and hardship that brings to life the adage, ‘adversity introduces you to yourself.’ In each new moment of discomfort we can ask ourselves, ‘Who am I being now?’ In fact, it is often easier to remain awake to that question during moments of duress, than when we are enjoying a wonderful moment of ease.

We dig deeper during times of difficulty. We reach inside and return to our reflective practice that illuminates our soul. We do so until we find strength within and a positive answer to the question, ‘What is being asked of us in this moment?’

Each time we walk through these scenarios and find, once again, that our hearts contain the wisdom we need to weather the next storm, we feel more calm, confident, and peaceful inside. We know there is a part of us that is indestructible; that our souls will live forever and that nothing can terminate our relationship with the Source or Life-Force that nourishes our every moment.

Eventually, we discover that our resilience is connected to our reliance on our Source. And that just perhaps, we are given these moments of hardship to deepen our trust and experience of reliance. Do we go through economic downturns because we are not deserving? Do we lose a meaningful relationship because we are not lovable? Do we fail at living up to our highest aspirations because we are incompetent? No! No! No! We experience these moments so that we can learn to bounce back stronger for the next opportunity. We experience these moments so that we can develop deeper roots and become unflappable beacons of contribution in a world starving for real leadership. And finally, we experience these moments to learn about reliance on the Oneness that gives us life.

Is it a spiritual path or religion that brings us this stronger resilience? It can be; but only if it brings us to the experience of giving up our egos in favour of reliance. It is an inside job that is personal. Resilience requires a moment by moment choice. Are we living for love? Are we honouring our adversity as a gift instead of an imposition? Are we using life to teach us about service? Are we bringing the best out of ourselves when it is the last thing we feel like doing? Can we surrender our agenda once again to bring the best out of others? Resilience, in the end, is simple but not easy. It is about reliance on our deepest values in every moment, and remembering where these values come from.

Paul Werder
USA

Excerpt from www.worldbookvalues.com
The World Book Of Values is an International project with contributions of 254 coauthors from 28 countries who believe in a better world reaching out to us with valuable ideas for a future with perspective.It became a huge book (424 pages) about luck, love and 363 other values, a stylish and attractive source of inspiration for our daily life, put together by Patrik Somers and Kate Stephenson. The World Book Of Values is a call upon – and an invite to grow together to a more value driven society on a personal, professional and planeterial level.