I'm not down, I'm standing!
Something that can stand tall despite taking countless blows is called durable. But this doesn't mean it's flexible. Things that aren't flexible but can survive blows without breaking are generally called durable consumer goods. The word "resilience," which in Western languages also means flexibility but is consistently translated into Turkish as "durability," inevitably places one on the same pedestal with durable consumer goods. The preference for durability over flexibility in the Turkish translation of the word may be a matter of geography. Resilience is the ability of something that has changed shape under pressure or force to return to its original shape when the pressure or force is removed. Resilient is an adjective used to describe bodies that can deflect blows and avoid blows by bending and twisting. However, in this region, those who bend and twist are not very popular: "Stand tall, don't bend, this nation is with you." In this region, tough bodies that can stand tall, who can withstand blows without bending and twisting, heroes are cherished. As the force of the blows intensifies, they will eventually succumb to it and break. Indeed, this is what befits heroes. Every fallen hero is lamented for a time, then placed in the pantheon of heroes and deified as a symbol of an epic life. Heroism requires standing tall and never bowing. In a land where heroism is exalted, resilience is unbecoming.
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"Resilience" is a term used specifically for those who successfully weather life's challenges thanks to their mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility. If an entity is resilient, like an elastic object, it can maintain its shape despite numerous blows; any change in shape is temporary; it can return to its original form. "Resilience" as a concept is problematic if it treats existence as a mere form, a finished product, and focuses on the entity's current form. Because every form, as a temporal and spatial manifestation, will change along with the forces that shape it. Evolution demonstrates that entities change form with changing conditions and acquire new forms appropriate to new conditions. While emphasizing the elasticity of existence, it is the power that brackets and preserves its current form; it constructs existence as something that constantly returns to the same state of equilibrium and form as its balance is disrupted. For if an entity disrupted cannot return to its original state of equilibrium and balance, it will also displace the power that rises upon that same balance. Nature never builds hierarchical towers of entities. It was man who built the towers of Babel and the pyramids and placed despots atop them. Nature is a fluid surface where balances are constantly disrupted and where beings are forced to change their forms and lifestyles when they reach a new state of equilibrium.
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Our fatal experiences with viruses, an intermediate form between the living and the inanimate, are current proof that existence is never permanent; on the contrary, it rapidly changes form as conditions change. Viruses, which constantly mutate and force us to rename, are the bane of our existence. It is humans who insist on maintaining their form and lifestyle despite all adverse conditions. Experiencing nature as a series of disasters, humans yearn to return to their former form and state of equilibrium after each destruction, and this is what they call normalization. Resilience, or flexibility, is the ability of an object or being to maintain its current state despite all adverse conditions, and humans are incredibly resilient beings. They never abandon their habits, they recreate the conditions that will sustain them, and they normalize.
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"Crises, shocks, and illnesses don't occur by chance. They serve as indicators that help you correct a course, discover new directions, and experience a different way of life." (Jung). You may have weathered the blows. But the landscape has completely changed. You suddenly find yourself in a jungle of unfamiliar indicators. The uneven terrain constantly disrupts your balance, and you've lost your way. Instead of exploring new paths and experiencing different ways of life, you can resist the changing conditions and, of course, still exclaim, "I haven't fallen, I'm standing!" for a while. The rest is well known.
BirGün
