Day 220

1. the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.

    

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    Bear with me for another one of my philosophical metaphors.

I was reflecting this morning on an unpleasant conversation with C yesterday. Having worked through the anger last night after he went to bed, I was mulling over how I could have reacted differently, handled it better, expressed myself more clearly knowing what I know about my husband and the way he hears things. Then I set it to the back of the brain pan and started into a strenuous work day.

Now, mid-day, I’m realizing that I’ve bounced back more quickly than I used to…Not that anything has been solved or resolved but my resiliency has improved, I think.

In another area of my life, I’ve noted an increased resiliency after strain: my joints. I credit the cleaner diet together with consistent exercise and stretching.

So of course I’m going to try to draw parallels.

Is it possible that strain and stress, basically “working out” physically or mentally, increases resilience? What does that mean for relationships? Maybe all the pain and angst of life can, if you choose to allow it, change you in positive ways.