Resilience is that enigmatic quality that we all look for when life gets tough; It is the quality that allows us to dig deep, find renewed courage and face our greatest fears in order to tame our dragons and emerge unscathed at the other end of turbulent times.

Radical resilience offers us that hidden capacity during the crisis to get back up, dust ourselves off and generate a new vision of our lives at all levels.

Genuine resilience has nothing to do with claims of invincibility, superiority, or willpower; rather, it depends on our willingness to be vulnerable and stand our ground in times when we don’t know what the next step is.

In spiritual terms, resilience involves a commitment to awaken more during the flashbacks rather than shutting down, and that awakening leads to growth in wisdom and faith.

Classic novel by Charles Dickens A tale about two cities, it opens with these lines:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of folly, it was the age of faith, it was the age of unbelief, it was the season of Light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair … we had nothing ahead of us, we were all going directly to heaven, we were all going directly to the other side … “

These words could well be used to describe current times rather than the era of the French Revolution nearly 250 years ago that Dickens described! It speaks of a time of chaos, conflict and despair; a time of controversy and contradiction, as well as happiness.

Even today, these challenges are inherent in life and therefore continue. Life is full of difficulties and triumphs, obstacles and opportunities.

Humanity is in the midst of a resurgent pandemic, suffers from a lack of leadership and faces the threat of economic collapse. We are caught up in civic uprisings and struggles against racial and social injustice around the world. Beyond these immediate threats, we are still facing a global climate crisis that makes the rest of our actions appear to rearrange the deckchairs of the Titanic.

Because all things are interconnected, the transformation we long for involves not a single change, but a cascade of complex changes. How we approach these changes could ultimately lead to global destruction or a genuine transformation of the world as we know it.

Critical decisions and responsibilities are ours.

We are being called to have greater meaning and purpose in our lives. Effective choices and actions must come from a deeper level of understanding. We are called to embark on a collective rite of passage to transform old beliefs and find new ways to guide our lives despite radical uncertainty and rapid change.

The pressure caused by major, rapid, and ongoing crises reveals hidden fault lines, vast inequalities, and painful injustices in all areas of our lives. He is calling us to respond with more than just survival: long-term resilience requires that we respond in the midst of crisis with genuine internal change on a personal level, so that we can merge our purified vision with that of others to transform life. society from below. above.

Resilience is a hard-earned quality. It does not develop through a life of comfort, ease, and security, regardless of what the ego wants us to believe. Only when faced with obstacles, stress and external threats does resilience develop. Psychological studies show that children who do not face adversity at a young age tend to lack resilience. As the old saying goes, “Calm seas make bad sailors.”

Resilience can be developed by facing difficult times with faith and courage. It doesn’t matter how many setbacks we face or how many failures we experience, what matters is as we respond to challenges.

The soul is the only aspect of a person that cannot be overwhelmed. It is the seat and living source of human resilience.

We deepen our resilience by responding from the soul and not from the ego. While the ego cries out for revenge, the soul takes inventory and accepts humble responsibility for its own participation in the unfolding landscape. Instead of causing more confusion, forgive mistakes. In doing so, it neutralizes the escalation of hatred and anger by extending forgiveness and compassion.

No matter how dark the night is, the soul can find highlights to help the human soul awaken more. We can do a lot to support this process.

We are in a collective rite of passage, a rare state of transition that can transform the nature of societies around the world. If we can have a vision for the emergence of a more inclusive humanity, we can find ways to navigate the rugged terrain from here to there. Meanwhile, we must embrace the unifying moments of the community that appear in the midst of conflict, participating in these moments as part of the collective healing process where we agree to protect and care for each other.

In these difficult times, we can also reach out to like-minded souls who share this larger vision. Our soul tribe can span the entire world and all timelines past, present, and future. We can find comfort in nature and in our animal companions. And we can draw from the well of the Spirit to renew our faith, so that we can maintain that vision of the world we want to create, standing firm, courageous and unshakeable in the face of the demolition of the old. We can spread the sacred spark of our inner life to embody a more moving presence in this world.

Ultimately, it is the awakened soul that rises above isolation and despair. By nurturing this awakened state in ourselves and in others, we will find the strength to hold onto that higher collective vision and do our part toward its realization. Indeed, it is our sacred duty to support and serve the sparks of holiness that we find in others and in the world.

The light that burns in us is also the light that dwells in others; it is the hidden light at the center of all things. When the inner light of the soul is awakened from within, it also enlivens things in the world around us. This is how things change, from the inside out; from the soul to the world. The radical resistance of the awakened heart can harbor a vision of greater inclusion to propel us to perform acts of courage and forgiveness, leading us towards creating a better world.