Sunday, February 14, 2016

Resilience

Published August 2, 2012
Stockton Sentinel
Stockton, Kansas



This week, the word “resilience” came to my mind as we continue to deal with the extreme heat and drought. The dictionary defines resilience as “the ability to recover from illness, depression, adversity, or the like.”
            
The word came to me when I noticed that my young lilac bushes are blooming. My lilac bushes are not designated as rebloomers. Even if they were, it would be amazing to see them blooming, especially since I’ve watered the bushes only twice this summer. But there they are, several stems of pretty little purple blooms, just making an appearance to brighten my otherwise hot and miserable day. These bushes to me are the living definition of resilience, having the ability to recover – even thrive – in spite of adversity.
             
Nearly all of my other flowers have burned up, in spite of my frequent watering. My roses are still thriving, but that’s largely due to me putting the sprinkler hose on them and forgetting about it being on. They’ve been well-watered and have rewarded me with happy pink blossoms.
            
 The lilac blooms taught me a lesson this week in their resilience. They’re out there in absolutely the most adverse conditions, nearly forgotten and ignored, yet they’ve continued to survive and have even gone above and beyond what is expected of them by producing beautiful flowers. 
            
 I’m so tired of this hot summer. The rain last week was wonderful, and I’m very grateful for it. But I’ve done more than my share of complaining about the hot summer even though I work in air-conditioned offices, drive in air-conditioned vehicles, and live in a comfortable air-conditioned house. I have no right to complain. Instead, I should be thriving and blooming.
             
I’m going to spend more time thinking about resilience and thriving in adversity. According to the news stories and weather forecasts, it sounds like the hot summer is going to stick around for a while longer.

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