Our children are resilient. It’s true. Not only is this an inspiring and hopeful thought, but an empowering one as well. Knowing that our children are resilient, and ok no matter what, in turn gives them the strength to handle trying times, difficult feelings and even apparent setbacks.
You may ask, “But what if I don’t believe in this resilience?” What if my child has an abusive parent, if he is being picked on, if she is depressed or what if her anxiety keeps her from functioning? How is that ok?
I am not suggesting that the situation is ok and not fraught with pain. Instead, I am inviting you to get curious about your child and his/her essence. It’s part of the design that all human beings are resilient. It’s not personal. It’s not like some people are and some people aren’t. Some people have neshamas and some people don’t. No, we all have, we are all resilient, we are all pure, healthy and holy at our core.
When life happens, our belief in their resilience is the actual salvation they need to be able to handle life on life’s terms. The power of emunah, the power of belief, is what creates our reality. They have this gift even if we haven’t considered it until now.
It’s like the story of the beggar who believed he was poor, but a philanthropic person put a million dollars under his shopping cart. He doesn’t know it’s there, so he continues to live his life like a poor person. However, he is truly rich. Knowing that would affect how he lives his life going forward.
So too, we are like beggars walking around, not knowing that we and our children were given a million dollars (a resilient soul) to walk through life. That knowledge alone is enough to change their experience of the difficulties they are living through, even if the actual circumstances never change.
