Some substances deform at certain moments and the return to their original form without the changes caused by the deformation being visible. Some living beings also experience external and internal shocks, deformations of sorts, at certain stages of their lives and return to their original external and internal integrity, unharmed and showing no traces of those shocks. Aggregations of living beings also exhibit this phenomenon and can recover from temporary deformation caused by distress or danger and return to their original functionality as societies.
This ability to fully recover and restore one’s original integrity after temporary deformation, shock, emergency, or danger, known as resilience, deserves to be honoured with a day of remembrance. The starting point for the research into resilience conducted over the past five decades was based on the simple observation that some people can apparently survive crisis situations without the experiences leaving psychological scars. Resilience is defined multidimensionally and with numerous focal points, but the core message remains the same: people can acquire the psychological – some also write spiritual – competences of resilience, which in turn allow them to master the challenges of life. The good news is that resilience can be acquired, trained, and extended throughout life. Another piece of good news is that the factors of resilience apply not only to individuals, but also to teams, organisations, and entire nations. More good news is that the prerequisites for resilience can be acquired by systems at will, and the competences can be used flexibly and dynamically depending on the context.
On the Day of Resilience, we can deal with individual, interpersonal, cultural, structural, and socio-political issues relating to our own resilience:
What expectations do we have of ourselves? Which feelings and emotions predominate in our everyday lives? Can we allow ourselves to make mistakes? How do we deal with fears and anxieties? What are our inner drivers? Do we receive (social) support, and can we accept help? Do we pursue clear goals that seem sensible? How busy are we during the day? Under what conditions and according to what guidelines do we occupy ourselves? What do we use to orientate ourselves? What values do we live by? Do we feel connected, valued, and that we belong in the spaces where we spend our time? Do we have spaces for self-reflection (with/without) feedback? Do we share our idea of the world and/or our knowledge with a community? Is everyone in the community seen and heard? Is everyone in the community accepted for who they are?
On the Day of Resilience, we can recognise our resilience, celebrate ourselves, and try out new creative ways to build resilience.
