Resilience is Being Tested
/Resilience is the ability to bounce back. With catastrophic fires across large parts of Australia at the moment, resilience is being tested. There are short-term ‘bounces' like these hard working firefighters grabbing a quick break, any way they can before the next round of solid work. Individuals and communities are in the immediate ‘bounce' of saving life, animals and property. There are resources being rallied, evacuation centres set up, help being sent.
When the flames are finally extinguished the longer ‘bounce' of resilience begins - rebuilding houses and communities, restocking farms, recreating infrastructure. There will be even longer bounces in our environment as plants and animals try to re-establish themselves in damaged areas. Some places will take decades to recover, if they ever fully do.
I have been reflecting on immediate and longer term actions I can take to contribute to the resilience of my fellow Aussies at this time. I’m running a Thrive and Adapt course in Perth in February. The course is all about tools to help people deal with stress and pressure - to handle the circumstances that they face. I’m taking the following actions:
$50 from every ticket sale will go directly to bushfire relief. That will be spread between community and environmental rebuilding efforts.
I’m offering a tailored version of the course to DFES in WA with spaces for 50 emergency services volunteers to attend free of charge.
If you want to join me on the Perth course to make this contribution bigger you can book a ticket here.