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.
No comments:
Post a Comment