Resiliency

-noun
1. The power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, stretched, or compressed; elasticity.

2. ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.

I met this word as a sixth grader, when my teacher remarked that I was "resilient". I liked how it sounded, it sounded so much like brilliant (another favorite word of mine), so I knew it had to be good. When I discovered what it meant, I liked it even more, and realized that I must be a resilient person.

Resiliency is the ability to pick yourself up after you fall over and over again in the relentless pursuit of a goal. It is taking lemons and making lemonade. It is reaching for the brass ring, even after you miss it the first five times around. It is keeping your nose to the grindstone in the face of adversity for the long haul because, in the end, it will all be worth it. Yes, I am resilient...

But I have seen resiliency that I don't know I posses. I work with people who have special needs, who face challenges every single day because their body, mind, spirit, or background have prevented them from functioning at the level of their peers. Every day, they pick themselves up (sometimes literally), and face each day. Sometimes they stumble, but they never stop. They never give up. Because what is the alternative? The mom of the child who has "behavioral problems", who each day chooses to love her child, because no one else will. Who drives 45 minutes for appointments, who has carefully scheduled her life around the needs of this child to make things just a little easier. Or the person who grew up in poverty, in addiction, and a part of "the system", who grabbed that brass ring the first time around, and took the opportunity to build a life and break that cycle. A person who is intelligent, articulate, caring, and never forgets the barriers that were overcome.

So, while I believe that I am a resilient person, and that, perhaps, in the face of such adversity, I would hold true to my beliefs that it is better to keep on going. But, thus far, my "resiliency" is just an ideal, nothing compared to the grit that I have seen in some very special people recently. I am so blessed to have these people in my life, to teach me about true persistence, true resiliency.

So take those lemons, don't chew on them! Add a little sugar, water, and make it something sweet!