Self resilience is defined as the ability to adapt, recover, and grow stronger in the face of adversity, stress, or challenges. To be alive is to have been tested by the vagaries of life.
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Life doesn’t give us a clear and guaranteed path. At best we have something that we can focus on in the near term. The future is obscured by fog.
As we meander through our days there may be feelings of being lost. Of being irrelevant… that what we do doesn’t matter.
The world may seem to move so fast that we risk losing track of who we are. Of our talents. Of the values that guide us.
We can become overwhelmed with the seemingly endless stream of conflicts and competitions. For employment. For the affections of others. For material gain.
There never seems to be enough time to simply stop… and watch ourselves exist in the world around us.
When we stop to truly we see ourselves, we are aware of how time and experiences have affected us. We acknowledge that some things may have come close to breaking us. But… we somehow endured.
We recognize the reasons why some roads have been less traveled by others. Rather than turn back, we faced the challenges ahead.
We continued undaunted on our journey… emboldened by our values and beliefs. And… we somehow made it through.
We are realists. We understand our time here will end at some point.
Regardless of how dedicated we are to our physical health we know that eventually everything wears out… but that doesn’t deter us.
Rather than fear that eventuality… we celebrate each day as a new and fresh adventure.
We see possibilities in the world around us.
We savour the moments we have… enjoying each for how it nourishes us. Appreciating the need to keep moving through life.
Self resilience comes from self-awareness and creating space for thoughtful action.
It lives within us when we remain calm under pressure. We see the world around us with clarity.
We focus on what we can control and emerge from our experiences with increased self-confidence and self-understanding.
Self resilience enables us to live each day with compassion for ourselves and others. To persevere in the face of the obstacles in front of us. To be ourselves without reservation.
Technical Note
Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,510 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.
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I try to keep pushing through with my Smal Fibre Neuropathy it is getting worse and I do worry for the future, but I will try and carry on in some way. Self worth without self esteem isn’t the best thing mantra.
If perhaps my condition worsens I will then switch to the best mobile phone photography. I seem to be declining by each month.
I am a positive person but it’s beginning to break me sadly
Hi Mark,
You remain engaged with life and with your photographic art in spite of the serious physical challenges you face. You are an inspiration to many of us.
Tom
Many thanks for your kind words, its a struggle most days with new weird symptoms too. Walking today it felt like my toes were scrunched up – of course it wasn’t when I returned home and took off my shoes and socks off, nothing there?
On Thursday this week I have tests as a volunteer for this condition to find better ways in diagnosis for the future.
This will be happening many months in the future too.
But photography keeps me sane and doing bird images for a while seems to help. But if it declines too much then I may sell all my Olympus cameras and lenses bags and everything 😔
Then buy the very best camera phone and carry on