Leap of Faith: how can we be resilient?

We are living through difficult times, but this is nothing new. Love and support can help us become resilient.

Aged two when war broke out between France and Germany, Boris Cyrulnik’s world shattered when his dad, enlisted in the French army, was taken prisoner and then sent to his death in Auschwitz. In 1942, his mother met the same fate and young Boris, now five and orphaned, was entrusted to the care of a foster family for his own protection. He remembers a loving, caring family, a fact which helped him to overcome his childhood trauma.

Later on, as a doctor and psychiatrist, he expanded on the notion of resilience for children, travelling to war zones to help young people to process their trauma and rebuild their lives. Resilience is a term first used in shipyard industry, describing the capacity of a material to withstand a shock. How do we overcome our traumas? How do we withstand the blows of life?

Young Joseph, in the Book of Genesis, was not particularly a nice character. His early dreams about himself put him at odds with his siblings. His father Jacob favoured him over his brothers, creating a rift among them all. Thrown in a pit, his brothers plotted his death, but Judah saved him and sold him to a caravan of merchants. This first act of love that gave him a ground for resilience and forgiveness.

Joseph went to Egypt. There, he was entrusted with the estate of a noble, but soon after was sent to prison because he refused to betray his trust. In jail, he was singled out by his ability to have dreams that come true, and he helped Pharaoh to prepare for difficult times ahead. As a reward, he became second only to Pharaoh, and ruled over Egypt. At the end of the story, Joseph reconciled himself with his brothers, and brought closure to a family feud.

The love shown by his eldest brother and also by his father, along with Joseph’s ability to have dreams about his future, contributed to his capacity to show resilience to make a life for himself and to mend broken relationships. When there is hardship around us, the love of our family and the support of our community are the anchors that keep us steady in the storm.

In addition to that, we must never forget that there is a life ahead, that we can invent or reinvent our future, and we are capable to do so.