Resilience Found in a Slinky

When I was a kid, there was always a Slinky toy around. Maybe even more than one! I spent hours flipping that thing back and forth as the tinny sound of metal meeting metal accompanied whatever I asked of my Slinky.

The most fun thing was when I sat it at the top of the stairs and flipped the top to watch it clank its way down to the bottom marveling at its ability to do what I, a human, could do. I would stretch my Slinky out as far as my arms would reach and it would snap back to its perfect coiled shape. I would flip it back and forth from hand to hand, pretending it was an accordion. There wasn’t much that I asked of my Slinky that it couldn’t do and it always came back to its perfect form.

In a funny way, life can be slinky, you know? Some might be fortunate to live a life that is graceful, flowing from one thing to another with a sense of seamlessness. A life with minimal interruptions that take you out of rhythm. However, I know of no one whose life has been uninterrupted.

I find that what is best learned from a Slinky isn’t about its name. It’s actually about its resilience.

I’ve thought much about how we as humans bounce back from the things that take us out of ourselves and our natural way of being. An unexpected layoff or the loss of someone important in our lives. A failed project or a health diagnosis that requires our total focus. These misfortunes stretch and bend us emotionally, mentally, spiritually and sometimes physically, requiring us to find our way back to ourselves. Or, maybe even a better version of ourselves.

Over the past several years, I’ve found twice daily meditations as a way to center myself when I’m in or near the eye of a storm and need to find my way back. The deep breathing that accompanies meditation calms my central nervous system, shifts the negative energy out of my body and invites a better energetic force to take its place. I also find that physical movement like walking, jogging or lifting weights aids in my recovery as does talking with friends, a favorite meal or countless other things that when strung together over time help me bounce back.

And my favorite bounce back assist? Time. Giving myself grace to move through, over, under or around life challenges that generate sleepless nights is so very important.

We aren’t built to bounce back like a Slinky. But in time, the right care for ourselves can boost us into being better than we were for having faced the sudden impact of something totally unforeseen. It’s this crazy thing we call life.

Surprisingly there’s a real-life lesson to be learned from a Slinky. Resilience.