John the Beloved

Learning To Bounce

taking the plunge

At these times of turmoil, the ability to bounce back is one of the most important abilities we can develop. Not so long ago, I watched a video on YouTube about a gosling standing at the top of a cliff, knowing it has to fly and taking off. It was absolutely frightening and inspiring, at the same time. This tiny little creature launched itself into the air, flew as it fell, all covered in fluff. It’d got no wings to speak of, but it was getting into position to fly, was learning, it was feeling the wind. It was understanding the buoyancy. And then it understood what happens if you don’t direct where you’re going, because if you don’t direct it you’re likely to do what this did, and hit the rocks. And it bounced.  

It hit the rocks, all the way down. Did it resist? No, it just went floppy. It stopped trying to hold itself straight. It relaxed and it went with the fall and it hit the rocks and bounced and bounced around.  Finally, it hit the bottom where the parents were waiting. And it took a couple of minutes and you’re wondering if it’s dead and then finally, up it popped and it shook itself and it looked up at mum and dad as much as to say, I did it.   

That’s what we need to learn to do because nothing is ever. Where we are at the moment is a tough lesson that we’re all learning, and for each of us that lesson has different connotations. For some of us the struggle is more difficult than for others. But the point is, we all have what we need within us to move through it, if we care enough about who we are. To find it, to build it, to develop it. And to lean on it.  

Resilience is an interesting energy. You can’t be resilient if you don’t believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, when things go wrong, you can become a victim, or you can tell yourself well, you deserved it because you’re not good enough. And that’s rubbish. We all deserve to live the life we want to live. And for some of us, that’s easy and possible. For others, circumstances say, that’s not possible. What else would you like to have instead? In other words, don’t waste time wishing for what is not part of your journey.   

Meditation helps us to understand who we are, but it can also show us where we can be. If we sit, looking at what’s wrong with our lives, we never build resilience. We never create anything that gives us a greater sense of self acceptance. If we sit and look at what’s possible and work towards it, the more that we cross what’s possible off our list and add other possibilities, the more we develop self acceptance  

Of course, it’s not simple. And of course it’s not easy. Rome’s never built in a day. All of those are platitudes, but they’re platitudes for a purpose. They work. So what is it within you that you can use, at this point in time, to take you where you need to be in full self-acceptance of who you are? 

And once you accept who you are, what’s possible for you to create, to make your life, all it can be so that your emotional well being is not just your own personal support? But it’s your gift to others also. 

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