Have you ever tried to take out a bamboo grove? It’s just about impossible. I had a hot tub behind my house in Phoenix. The previous owner had planted a cluster of bamboo plants as a privacy fence from the neighbors. The problem for me was those lovely bamboo plants shed their leaves into the hot tub and started popping up everywhere in the lawn. That bamboo was the epitome of resilience – cut them down in one spot, and they’d show up in another. It reminds me of the human spirit. It can be resilient and thrive even when conditions seem to be against it.

2020 was a year when “conditions” seemed to be against us. It was labeled Covid19, and that tiny little virus seemed to bring the world to a halt. Stay at home. Self-isolate. Wear a mask and stay six-feet apart. Leave your job because someone has to help your children with distance learning. How will you pay your rent/mortgage? … And will this ever end?

This is where resilience comes in. When all seemed hopeless for many people, and where many felt helpless, we had an opportunity for a reset – to get off the treadmill of doing what we’ve always done in the way we’ve always done it because “that’s just the way it is.”

Whether you’re feeling helpless because of “outer forces” or you’ve reinvented yourself to step into a greater iteration of who you truly are, you are a hero, because you have the power. How amazing is that?!

Part of that power is acceptance of what’s happening. You can fight it or accept it. Accepting what’s happening is not the same as approving or consenting to it. Accepting is about acknowledging what’s already happened – and making decisions as to what you will do with it.

You can also be open to allowing your good to flow to you. Remember when you were a child and your parents gave you an “allowance”? Did you reject your good? Of course not. You were open and receptive to receiving it.

Another powerful source is the practice of appreciation. Appreciation and allowance go hand-in-hand. You must first allow good into your life and then nurture, grow, and accelerate its presence through active appreciation and gratitude. There is a high vibration to appreciation that attracts and becomes a magnet to good.

Then there’s authenticity. Authenticity is about being your true self. In Matthew 5:15, Jesus says, “no one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” You and I are here to let our light shine – to be our authentic selves. Where might you be hiding your light and being less than your true authentic self?

And finally, there is abundance – abundance in every area of your life. That includes loving relationships, health, career, creative expression, and freedom of time and money. You have control of your level of abundance. It’s a decision. Do you want to wallow in the energy of lack and limitation or thrive in abundance?

Remember, you are amazing! You have an inner strength and power that can’t be diminished or destroyed by outer conditions. You are stronger and more resilient than that bamboo in my back yard. You are more than outer conditions. Let your light shine and say “Yes!” to your good.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2021 issue of CHOICES Magazine