What is Spiritual Resilience?
Salsa Night
I was on my way out of salsa night when the life of the party, an amazonian beauty resembling Meghan the Stallion, was rushing to catch up to me. She wanted to talk and asked for a ride back to the dorms.
I was glad to take her with me. Yet, before I could start the car, she told me about her faith and felt she could talk to me, the “chapel girl,” because I was right there. I listened and tuned in to what she wanted to express. She was dealing with many regrets in the last phase of her military career. She wondered if her future would be fulfilling in the civilian world. She wanted me to know that she still had faith in God but struggled to see him in the usual places (church, other Christians).
I asked her how she was managing and what held her spirit together. She shared how she found fulfillment in the salsa night community. To her, going to salsa nights was how she filled her spiritual resilience. Thursday nights pushed her through the week with hope. She knew God was there in the kindness, laughter, and motivation she felt from us, teaching her to find the rhythm. I admired her outlook. We were far away from our families and being able to find comfort in the simple things makes the time go by faster.
Military
A bit of insight here. I’ve worked with the Chaplain Corps as a Religious Affairs airman for 18 years. The military defines spiritual resilience as a practice of religion, meditation, or focus on purpose.
From my point of view, the practice of religion in the military and the United States is decreasing. I see it in the low attendance to the worship services we offer. It is challenging to ask veterans to meditate, be still, and train their attention on the spiritual. It doesn’t add to the rugged image we display in movies and the news. I’d love to see the author of “Discipline Equals Freedom,” retired Navy Seal Jocko Willink, meditating, wouldn’t you?
What Do You Value?
Before discussing spiritual resilience, I want to ask what those words mean to you?
In my experience, I’ve rarely found two people answer with the exact definition. As a Religious Affairs Airman, my job isn’t to find the correct answer but to hear what you value within those two words. I’ve seen tremendous ROI when you start a conversation from the place of value to the other person.
In my job, probing is essential, but it’s not always right to ask questions when someone only wants you to listen. Learning to differentiate between listening, problem-solving, and curiosity is valuable in building relationships.
Spiritual Resilience Defined
When I spoke to my friend, she had a clear vision of her spiritual resilience. She found it on salsa nights.
Spiritual resiliency is a sacred time that brings you to hope in the midst of chaos.
I know I find hope in the church community, and in working out detoxifying my emotions. Those spaces create a time where I'm aware of who I am and what I want.
So what is a sacred time that brings you hope? Share it in the comments below.
