An oval painting shows a dark-skinned figure with closed eyes and raised hands in warm tones. Scrabble tiles spelling “LIFE” run vertically on the left. The background features hearts and swirling patterns in red, blue, and yellow hues.

Love and Resilience Response – Yesenia Montilla

How do you see Love and Resilience in these times? Can they be one in the same?

I don’t think Love and Resilience are the same. But they inform one another. Love makes resilience possible and resilience is how we survive these times. The more we love, (whether it be other humans, trees, animals, mountains) the more our ability to survive becomes engaged. Loving the world means wanting to live in it, and in order to truly live we have to be resilient, not resilient as in strength or toughness but resilient as in adaptability and tenacity. The world will isolate you in ways that make loving it really hard, but continuing to wake up and come back to the world with love in your heart creates a plasticity that can carry us through all the challenges.