Resilience!

On the morning of March 12 my husband and I sat glued to the   television as a high-speed chase through busy highways in Denver, Colorado was televised live. We watched a male suspect in a stolen vehicle, with a 4-year-old inside, abandon that car and hijack two additional vehicles. He threw drivers from their cars, crashed into multiple vehicles, and drove at 100+ mile speeds (sometimes the wrong way). He ultimately abandoned his stolen vehicle and ran by foot before police apprehended him. Unlike most news coverage that occurs after the fact, this occurred live. We didn’t know if we would see head-on collisions, injuries or death. It was terrifying to watch and we found ourselves in an outrage, feeling helpless and afraid for every human being that was in harm’s way.

This story ended well. There were no fatalities, the little boy was unharmed and reunited with his family, and none of the victims were seriously harmed. The 28-year-old male suspect is now in the judicial system, and life quickly returns to normal. But does it?

When life throws you (literally) from a moving vehicle, how do you bounce back? How do you live through an experience like that and stay the same? What emerges in you from having gone through this type of event?

In a couple of years when you look back on you, what do you hope to see? – Kate Ebner

Earlier the same week as this Denver high-speed chase, I attended an executive coaching conference in Washington, D.C. sponsored by Georgetown University. The topic of the conference was resilience, and multiple speakers talked about the view from the place of life you are in. We often only enjoy that view when life is going well and we are at the top of the plateau. But what about when we are in the dark curve of the valley feeling stranded without our ride? Do we even think to look up and see what that view holds? How do we allow the beauty of life to still appear even when events get ugly and hard?

I imagine the hugs that happened after the events on 3/12 were tighter and longer. There was a collective sigh of relief as Denver realized it was over. We all felt the violation and were concerned for those who were directly impacted. I’m certain there was individual anger, shock and grief for the vehicular damage – but the cost could have been so much worse. Perhaps that’s what resilience does for us. It reminds us that we are far more than our possessions. We are far more important than the cars we drive or the places we are headed. Hard things in life give us a rich opportunity to connect with what is most meaningful. 

I love seeing the resilience in others. What events have allowed your resilience to surface?