Resilience is in all of us. It’s just, for some, access is blocked by life circumstances and events that lead to choices that undermine resiliency’s ability to play a part in creating a life of grace and ease.
And living a life of grace and ease, at any age, is, at least to me, a wonderful way to live.
When I make choices that undermine my body, when I think thoughts that disrupt my peace of mind and break down my confidence and belief in myself, I am not only weakening my resiliency, I am hurting the person I need the most in this life — me.
I need me to be strong, healthy, confident and full of grace to move through this world, creating better in my wake.
And to do that, I must take care of all of me — my whole body – head, heart, belly, torso, limbs, eyes, ears, mouth, skin, skeleton, arteries…. All of me.
And not just all of me – but all of the world around me for we are all connected. We are all part of this one planet. This one giant ball of matter spinning around the sun, giving birth, dying, regenerating, renewing, evolving.
We are all connected to everything. Part of the same matter, lifeforce, world.
And in this world, me, the individual, is a microcosm of the whole earth. When I stress my resiliency, I am stressing the resiliency of all the world around me.
Taking care of me, no matter my age, takes care of all the world around me, decreasing the stress I place on the world.
And that’s why taking care of myself as I age, being conscious of the choices I make is so important.
When I don’t, I put more stress on my body, the people who love me, the people and systems that are there to care for me when I’m not well or capable of taking care of myself, the world all around.
Limiting stress is good for me – it’s good for everyone.
And that’s what I’ve realized this week as we’ve explored ‘Resiliency’. If I want it to be strong and capable of supporting me when I really need it, I need to take good care of me in the here and now.
namaste
Dare Boldly 
Great piece, but I wonder if your take on stress is for everyone. I think lifestyle choices contribute to longevity and happiness (check out the Blue Zones) – but I’m finding post-pandemic stresses more productivity-inducing (positive stress) than was my stress/distress during three years of ‘downturn in the economy + pandemic stressors’ (negative stress). Perhaps like those coaches at a gym that push us to push our bodies and our muscles – into the pain zone, to get the gain zone.
Keep writing these pieces – they are thought-provoking and valuable to your audience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Mark — thanks for this comment. you’ve inspired my first post in What does it mean to age with grace and ease. 🙂
LikeLike
Interesting approach to positive vs. negative stress as described by Mark K.
Need to mull this one over for there is definite merit in how it can benefit one’s personal journey of aging with grace. Thanks Mark.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The challenge is — while we can consciously think of stress as positive vs negative, the brain/body does not differentiate. It’s how we cope with the body’s automatic responses that make the difference. ❤
LikeLike
Stress makes me shake uncontrollably so not good for me my body doesn’t know how to handle stress
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a hard thing to learn how to cope with. So sorry it makes you shake uncontrollably JoAnne. ❤
LikeLike