Want to Know the Secret to True Resilient Living?
Hint: We have to look beyond our personal interests.
The term “resilience” has layers of meaning.
It makes us think of personal strength—the ability to “take a licking and keep on ticking,” and to adapt and thrive through change.
Think about how that might apply to a building. In architectural design, a resilient property exists in harmony with nature. It thrives even in the face of unexpected events, like a violent storm, or the power grid going down. It’s built to stand the test of time.
After more than a decade of work in the natural building movement, I’ve come to understand that resilience is actually a much bigger concept. It encompasses more than just an individual person or property. True resilience involves our communities and infrastructures.
They play important roles in helping us withstand and recover from adversity.
Individual Resilience: The Foundation of Personal Strength
If someone calls you “resilient,” what do they mean?
They’re probably saying you adapt well to change. You thrive, even when the going gets tough. Or you can bounce back from stress quickly.
This form or resilience is deeply personal. It involves mental, emotional, and physical strength. It’s about developing a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities for growth, cultivating emotional intelligence, and maintaining physical health.
How do we build individual resilience?
There are so many answers to this question! I’ll try to cover the basics in this small section of the article.🙂
First, we must practice self-awareness and self-care. We need to understand ourselves—our true core values, our strengths, and our vulnerabilities. Mindfulness and journaling can help us get to know ourselves.
Emotional resilience is about caring for yourself when you’re vulnerable or stressed. It’s also important to cultivate supportive relationships with people you trust, and who also trust you. You need somewhere to turn for support when life throws you a curveball.
Physical resilience includes things like diet, exercise, and making sure you have good healthcare.
But even the strongest person doesn’t exist in isolation. In fact, I would say that the more we’re connected with our community and our resources, the stronger we are.
Infrastructure Resilience: The Backbone of Our Systems
What do I mean by “infrastructure?”
I mean the systems and physical structures that support our lives. Our homes, communication networks, power grids, transportation systems, water collection and treatment, and food supplies are all examples of infrastructure. We can’t live without these things. But I’ll venture to say that a lot of us would be completely devastated if one of these systems collapsed—let alone multiple systems! Can you imagine what would happen if our power grids and water systems both collapsed? It would be chaos!
Having resilient infrastructures is crucial.
We have to be able to rely on essential services and systems, even when challenges arise.
Most people are connected to centralized systems. The critical systems they rely on are in a single, centralized area: there’s one local power grid, one local water treatment plant, etc. If that system goes down, those folks have nowhere to turn. They don’t always have a backup plan.
And those systems are usually vulnerable to failure at multiple points.
For example, a power plant could experience an outage due to a storm or technical malfunction. The transmission lines that carry electricity can go down, the transformers can get damaged, the circuits can overload. And these days, more power grids have digital components, meaning they’re vulnerable to cyber attacks.
There are a lot of ways the power can go out!
That’s why decentralized infrastructure is a key concept for resiliency.
Decentralizing our infrastructure involves spreading those critical systems across a broader area, instead of keeping them in a single location, or relying on a single provider. For example, solar panels, septic systems, and community gardens are decentralized systems that can provide important services and resources.
If larger, centralized systems fail, the smaller local resources are still there to support us. If the power goes out, homes with solar panels and battery storage can still get electricity. If the city’s water system is contaminated, rainwater harvesting systems are there for us.
Cultural Resilience: Keeping Us Connected
One point that really stood out for me was McLennan’s exploration of cultural resilience.
He writes about when a community has a shared cultural fabric, which makes it stronger and more adaptable. A resilient cultural fabric isn’t just about sharing traditions and liking the same food (although it can include that). It’s about understanding how important it is to stay involved in the community and support one another.
In Western cultures, where the individual is valued over the community, a lot of people have trouble relating with this concept. Maybe it was common to know your neighbors fifty years ago, but these days, not everyone goes out of their way to befriend their neighbors. Many people don’t even know their neighbors well enough to ask to borrow a cup of milk. They don’t get involved with their communities, whether it’s through charity work, helping at a church, or keeping up with a group of friends and family. Living an isolated existence is the norm for a lot of people.
But what happens when a crisis comes up? Who do we turn to?
Humanity is a fundamentally social, tribal species. We work best, when we work together.
McLennan points out that when people in the community feel connected to each other—and when they’re aware of their roles within that community—they can come together and act cohesively when disaster strikes.
They basically become their own response team.
It’s like having local firefighters. If your home catches on fire, you want the firefighters coming from a very close location. You don’t want them having to suit up and trek from all the way across town. Timing is everything!
Well, imagine that a terrible storm sweeps through your community. The power grid goes down, and it’s hard for trucks to make it through the devastation to get resources to people—like food, water, and blankets.
If the local community is connected, everyone can pull together. Some people might have generators, candles, water bottles—or even a well on their property. Others might be able to cook, or offer childcare while people form teams to clean up the debris of the storm.
It’s important to have these crucial resources available close to home. For that, we need one another. That’s the idea behind cultural resilience.
Planning a Resilient Lifestyle
Now that we’ve talked about the three key forms of resilience, how do we integrate all three to create a truly resilient lifestyle? The strength of one aspect supports the others.
Here are some suggestions…
Evaluate your personal resources: What resources—material, emotional, and otherwise—can you rely on, even when shit hits the fan?
Assess your home’s utility systems, backup options, and passive systems. Are they grid-tied or independent?
What backup systems can you put in place?
How can you show up for others during a crisis? Can you offer a place to stay? Transportation? Childcare? Help in moving big, heavy stuff?
Work to strengthen your infrastructure: What is the infrastructure like in your community?
Is everything connected to a single, centralized source, which you have no control over?
Think about investing in, or advocating for, developing more local systems. Consider community gardens, local energy production, water management, and more.
Foster cultural connections: Get involved with your community! You don’t have to run for the city council (though you can). Think about who your community is, and how you can grow connections with them.
Can you host a neighborhood block party? Participate in local fairs or events? Build support for repairing the local roads?
Reach out to people in your community and ask what they need. What would make them feel more stable and secure—whether they’re a business or a private residence? Once you know, think about whether you’re able to offer the kind of support they need.
Plan strategically: We don’t need resiliency every day. We need it when times get tough.
Make a plan for what to do when something goes wrong—whether it’s on an individual level, or in your community.
Understand your role, and help others understand what they can do, too.
Invest in your personal development, and set goals to improve your all-around resiliency
The Path Forward: Embracing Resilience
True resilience is more than being adaptable and bouncing back after a setback.
It’s about creating a community where people, systems, and social ties work in harmony—for the good of all.
The beauty of becoming more resilient is that one form of resilience supports the others.
When you become a more resilient person—through healthy living and self-care—you’re better able to show up for your community. When the infrastructures you rely on are strong, that benefits both individuals and the community. And when the cultural ties between people are healthy, that helps you grow stronger as a person, and enables the entire community to come together to improve their local infrastructure.
Humanity evolved to live in small, tribal societies. Everyone had their role, contributing to the wellbeing of the group. Our lifestyles are different now, but the principles of resiliency haven’t changed. It all comes down to self-care, caring for our homes and towns, and caring for one another.
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