What is resiliency? How do you get it? How do some people just have it, and others don't? How can you develop it?
These questions plagued me as a social worker in case management. I worked in foster care and the horrors some of these children went through were so beyond comprehension my mind seemed to build a kind of wall that prevented me from going too far down that rabbit hole.
We all deal with our own horrors, and we all strive to find that "healthy, happy" life. People from all different kinds of backgrounds can be trapped in victimhood, defeat, hopelessness, constantly repeating the same self sabotage and leaving a wake of destruction.
What makes us stop?
What makes us able to stop?
What makes us able to choose a different path and stick to it?
How do we build this skill?
I'm especially curious about these questions as I struggle with my own fears right now.
Fears that overwhelm me so much I want to give up.
I got a great card today: Strength.
On the card this woman, naked and vulnerable but without shame, comes to a clearing in the middle of the night, and wrestles with a snake that emerged from a pool of water before her.
She is calm, she is on one knee in a position of humility - but not weakness.
This inner peace, humility, and belief is what gives her true strength to wrestle with her inner demons, to wield her energy, passion, and desires wisely.
She tells me: walk straight into what scares you the most - vulnerable, carrying nothing, facing the darkness.
Look at that pool of water - the reflection of yourself and your deepest emotions, ugly and beautiful.
Begin the lifelong practice of working with your emotions in a way that doesn't suppress them or give them control over your reactions.
What are the tools to get there?
In the metaphysical world, snakes often represent life energy, passion, desire. This energy is said to rest in all of us and is awakened when we perform disciplined spiritual practices - whatever that looks like for you: yoga, meditation, prayer, any sort of daily exercise that connects you to something higher and deeper than yourself.
Here's some helpful free tools to start - a tarot spread I made that will act like that pool of water on your journey into the darkness.
If you want to experience an exercise that will give you that sense of confidence and empowerment grab a free mini session with me.