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| Courtesy of Charmeddesign.com |
Mindfulness is everywhere these days, and that's a good thing. I'm a mindfulness practitioner, and it's heartwarming to see mindfulness recommended in a doctor's blog post on the five characteristics of resilient people. Smita Malhotra, M.D., affirms mindfulness as a refuge in difficult times and that has certainly been my experience over the years.
Dr. Malhotra, self-described as a pediatrician, writer, photographer, dog lover, and student of life, writes:
I remember the day I found out that my aunt had cancer. Although she was the most positive person I had ever met, I still worried about how she would handle such an overwhelming diagnosis.
Looking back, now that her cancer is in remission, she continues to be the most positive person I know. But even more than that, she is what I call an elegant spirit.
Cancer, in my aunt's world, was a small valley hidden amongst the many glorious peaks of her life. While she may have had some moments of despair as we all do when we find ourselves alone in our thoughts, unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel, she never showed this to the world outside.
She never complained. During her treatment, she continued to go to work and share her passion. She turned long days of chemotherapy in the hospital into a party with her friends where they would share stories, laugh and play cards.
Life threw her an arrow, and she, an archer herself, caught this arrow and created her bow. She knew that she could not control the fact that this arrow had come to her, but her bow could hold it stable. Instead of defeating her, the arrow ultimately strengthened her.
As a physician, I have met many such elegant spirits. Their resilience is awe-inspiring. They have the ability to handle even the most devastating diagnosis.
How then, do people cultivate such strength? And how can we do that for ourselves?
Here are five things resilient people have in common (mindfulness heads the list):
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