The Roots of Resilience
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The Roots of Resilience are part of a wholistic approach to cultivating resilient health. While we may focus on an individual root, in reality there is a lot of overlap and interdependence among the Roots.
Working with the Roots of Resilience is a circular path--we can choose a couple of Roots in which to begin our work and then later circle back to other Roots, or even revisit Roots and deepen our work there. There is no need to work on all of the Roots of Resilience at once. Each person will be coming to this work from a different point on the journey, so where and how each person begins working with the Roots of Resilience will differ. |
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
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We can view the Roots of Resilience through both a macro (bigger picture) and micro (smaller picture) lens. At the outermost macro level is the larger community of humans and the more-than-human world and the interdependence that exists here. It's all connected--the health and wellbeing of each individual being (both human and more-than-human) is connected to the health and wellbeing of others. When we care about others, we care about ourselves; when we care about ourselves, we care about others. If we only care about others, we will suffer. If we only care about ourselves, others will suffer.
At the next level, we can think of how the Roots of Resilience apply to an individual. And then smaller yet, we can look at how the Roots apply to organ systems, tissues, and even smaller at the cellular and atomical levels.
Something to keep in mind is that each individual is an ecosystem--we are made up of atoms, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, bacteria, viruses, and other beings that live in symbiosis with us. All of these "parts" make up "us." While we talk about things like the mind and body or individual organ systems separately for the sake of simplicity and communication, the truth is there isn't a hard boundary between them.
At the next level, we can think of how the Roots of Resilience apply to an individual. And then smaller yet, we can look at how the Roots apply to organ systems, tissues, and even smaller at the cellular and atomical levels.
Something to keep in mind is that each individual is an ecosystem--we are made up of atoms, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, bacteria, viruses, and other beings that live in symbiosis with us. All of these "parts" make up "us." While we talk about things like the mind and body or individual organ systems separately for the sake of simplicity and communication, the truth is there isn't a hard boundary between them.
Image by Hans from Pixabay
Rhythm--daily/monthly, seasonal, life stages
All of nature, ourselves included (down to the cellular level), functions according to a variety of rhythms and cycles. Often we don't even notice these rhythms and cycles. But by beginning to pay attention to these rhythms and cycles, we can feel more rooted in a sense of regularity, even when life gets chaotic. And when we're aware of the rhythmic nature of life, we can intentionally choose to live our lives in a more rhythmic way--becoming conscious partners in the rhythms of life rather than passive beings that life simply happens to.
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Rhythm holds the dichotomy of regularity and change. Food is a good example: we may eat at regular times each day, but we don't eat the same foods at every meal. The foods we eat will change according to things like our activity levels and the seasons. The seasons too are both regular and different. Winter may occur each year, but this winter is different than last winter and the one before that. Diversity is an important element of rhythms and cycles--having new and different experiences, learning new things, and being open to new ideas and ways of doing things is how we grow and evolve.
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Daily/monthly rhythms: These are the ups and downs of our energy cycles, sleep cycles, the flow of our daily life (i.e. do we eat at regular times? Go to bed and wake at regular times?), the rhythms of our breath, rituals we do on a regular basis--like meditation, prayer, movement, etc. Monthly rhythms can include the menstrual cycle (for those who menstruate), our energy cycles of extended times, the moon phases and how those phases affect us, etc.
Seasonal rhythms: Here we can think about the four (or five if thinking in terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine) seasons and their transition periods. Based upon the seasons, we might choose different foods to eat (i.e. hot soup in winter, cooling watermelon in summer), adjust our activity levels, honor seasonal changes in our energy levels, or choose different kinds of movement (i.e. swimming in a lake in summer, raking leaves in fall).
Life stages: The larger cycles of birth, death, and rebirth and youth, midlife, old age, etc. Birth, death, and rebirth can be thought of both physically and metaphorically. Things like our emotions, thought patterns, and ways of being can go through cycles of birth, death, and rebirth (or transformation). Here, too, we can think of the ups and downs of life--times of immense joy and times of immense sorrow.
Photo by Tolga Ulkan on Unsplash
