Resilient

So much for Normal Me and my list of adjectives.

“Resilient” is an adjective I’d love to add to my list, particularly now. You, too, I imagine. I often do think of myself as moody but resilient. But I have to ask, is it resilience if it only lasts an hour or two at a time? Is “equanimity” equanimity if it comes and goes?

Our country and the world suffered a terrible blow on November 5th. Not a natural disaster or a mass shooting, though we have far too many of those. No, this happened at the polls, with the re-election of a tyrant. While we can soothe and support each other as people do in the face of tragedy, the communities in which we live are harshly divided. In this case, we can take comfort only from those whom we know to be like-minded. So we haven’t the balm of a whole community in which to take solace. That division eats into our ability to be resilient.

ENC314 Lose Heart

I hate politics and always have. This time, though, the stakes were so high that I got a little bit involved. My small women’s group raised over $8,000 to support two Democratic candidates here in Missouri. Now I wish we’d raised that money for the Food Bank or City of Refuge or any of a number of nonprofits that needs funds.

So in my short-lived moments of resilience I think this: I will put my efforts into helping local nonprofits, charities, and people in need. We had raised the bulk of that $8,000 by putting on a silent auction. Why not do the same for a chosen local nonprofit once or twice a year? Legal services for the immigrants who will be targeted in the new hell in which we find ourselves. Food for the hungry. Housing. This is something I can do and the money will go to a greater good than politics ever offers.

Beyond that, as an artist I can continue to create art that will uplift and enliven the spirit. I can say hello to strangers, trying really hard not to guess whether or not they voted for him. I can do random acts of kindness and get back to handing out poems. I can practice forgiveness. Can I? I’ll do my best. I can continue posting uplifting things on social media and sending these letters to you. For now I think that’s about all I can muster.

What can you muster? (Besides the usual meanings of “collect” or “summon up,” this word also means a group of peacocks!)

“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Finding and living from a place of meaning is the single most important avenue for being resilient." - Beth Miller

"Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." - St. Francis de Sales

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

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Thanks for listening,
Kay

P.S. MerryThoughts is the name of my first book, out of print at the moment. The word is a British one, referring both to a wishbone and to the ritual of breaking the wishbone with the intention of either having a wish granted or being the one who marries first, thus the "merry thoughts."