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Cultivating Resilience Practice 9: Meaningful Moments

Lemonade image is described in the body of the post.

 HEALTH & WELLNESS

Editor’s Note:

Bold Blind Beauty is thrilled to share with you snippets from Becky Andrews’ new book “Cultivating our Resilience Workbook/Journal.” Adversity strengthens and builds resilience; Becky will share weekly practices to help us become more resilient. ~Steph

Hello All

Thanks for following along in our cultivate resilience series. If you have just joined us, you might want to go back and review each practice. These practices have become a part of my routine. For me, they are all essential practices in the day. Some days call for more of one practice than another and that’s okay too.  

Practices 1 Through 8

Transformation

Recently, I shared these practices at a meeting and served lemonade. It was a beautiful morning and I reflected afterward that some of the challenges I had experienced in my life had led me to this moment and sharing with this group. The opportunity to share some lessons learned and meaningful moments was so sweet and is practice nine in our cultivating resilience path. 

A lemon is a great example of transformation. A lemon that may be sour just on its own can be transformed to lemonade, lemon meringue pie, or perhaps lemon bars through the process. This is resilience.

Today’s practice nine is to find the meaningful moments or lessons learned throughout our journey.  

The notion. I can gain wisdom and ultimately prevail. 

~Victor Frankl

Amidst the challenges that you may be experiencing, we find ourselves having meaningful moments and lessons learned. When we are open to noticing these they can teach us. Take a pause and ask yourself:

  • What lesson have I learned in this journey or challenge I am experiencing?  
  • What meaningful moments have I experienced?  
  • What have you learned about yourself during this time?  

Take your time. Remember to simply be curious. Be open to noticing what comes up for you. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. By asking ourselves these questions, we begin to invite the exploration.  

When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves. 

~Victor E. Frankl 

It is my belief that we must honor the process of not being able to change a situation. There can be real grief, loss, trauma, disappointment that comes with this awareness and situation that has happened. Allow the time you need to recognize that you are not able to change a situation. Then, we are invited/challenged to change ourselves. To begin to find meaningful moments and the lessons learned at this time.  This practice can happen in moments. During a difficult day, you can also experience a meaningful moment or recognize a lesson learned.  This is resilience – that duality of us navigating a loss and finding a meaningful moment. It is navigating that challenge and also finding something that brings us joy and laughter. We can honor all aspects of ourselves.  

When we learn how to become resilient, we learn how to embrace the beautifully broad spectrum of the human experience.

~Jaeda Dewalt

We begin to thrive in our journey as we give ourselves permission to feel it all.  As Maya Angelou said:  My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style. 

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style. 

~Maya Angelou

Thriving With Vision Loss

In my book, Look up, move forward; I share the story of presenting at a conference. In 1998 the Visions conference was in Chicago and I was asked to present a breakout session called “Coping with Vision Loss.” I was thrilled about the opportunity, both professionally and personally. Along the way, I had discovered so many practical tools that had helped me cope and I’d seen so many patients at the Moran with their own unique experiences and tools. I looked forward to sharing all of that at the conference. 

Pantera, my guide dog, was by my side. As I began my presentation, I was filled with gratitude for my journey from uncertain attendee to confidence presenter. Just a minute or two after I started a woman in the back spoke up. She was probably in her seventies and she said, “I have macular degeneration. I don’t want to just cope and get by.” I wasn’t sure where she was taking our conversation or what I was going to say next. “I want to thrive!” She finished with a flourish of her hand. Everyone in the room smiled and nodded. It’s what we all wanted, what we all want still. “Yes,” I agreed. “Thank you!” I shifted my message for the rest of the presentation substituting ‘thrive’ every time I’d planned to use ‘cope.” I’ve reflected on this powerful message and our desire to thrive. Resilience comes as we are able to shift from coping to thriving.  

We can cope with our life’s challenges or we can thrive with them. I realized her message was universal. We can cope with even the most difficult aspects of life, whatever they may be, or we can use our creativity to thrive. I’ll be forever grateful to this message. It changed the tone of my presentation and it changed my life. Look Up, Move Forward, page. 114-115.

Journaling

Thriving is growing. Take some time to journal about what thriving means to you. If you were thriving in your life with the challenges that you have, what would that look like? 

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Choose an area of your life where you feel you are coping – perhaps the reason why you have been reading this series.  How are you doing now?  Its okay if you are coping.  We need to give ourselves all the time and space to heal and to cope.  

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As we give ourselves the time and space we need and utilize the practices we have talked about we will feel more of this practice nine of noticing the meaningful moments and lessons learned in our journey.  

I hope you will share your thoughts. I look forward to coming back next week for our final practice in cultivating resilience. And, if you’d like hope you can join us for three options for connection.

  1. Cultivating Resilience Virtual Course to begin Wednesdays, September 16th, 10 AM PT, 11 MT, 12 CT, 1 ET. Eight weeks – $30 full course.
  2. Daring to Own Your Story ™ Virtual Retreats for Women who are blind/low vision. Facilitated by Becky Andrews, LCMHC, and Sheila Koenig, MEd – both women who are blind. 6 weeks beginning September 15 1 PT, $125 full retreat
  3. Intensive four-day virtual retreat October 15-October 18, $125 full retreat

Contact Becky at becky.lpc@gmail.com for details!  

About The Author:

Image is described in the body of the post.
Becky Andrews

Becky Andrews is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Small Business Owner – Resilient Solutions, Inc, and founder of the Daring to Own Your Story ™ Retreats. She is also the author of Look up, move forward – her memoir of Losing her eyesight and finding her vision.  

You can follow her at:

Workbook: 

Cultivating our Resilience Workbook/Journal will be out Fall 2020. Email Becky at becky.lpc@gmail.com to be on the waiting list or preorder.

Image Descriptions:

  • Header: Photo of a pitcher of lemonade with two full mason glasses sitting on a wicker tray with several loose lemons strewn about. Text on the image says “Cultivating Resilience” and “Becky Andrews, LCMHC.”
  • Becky is sitting on outdoor steps next to her guide dog, Georgie, a gorgeous yellow lab.