Breathing

Cher said something I had never considered before, and it resonated with me long after. It was an unseasonably warm spring day as we sat outside on a patio of a local cafe. A former Chicagoan, Cher was back in town to make her annual reunion with friends and family. I was one of them. Even though our friendship was relatively new, she was someone I immediately knew I could trust upon first meeting a few years before. Warm, comforting, authentic … Cher is the sort of friend you hold onto from an early age and don’t let go. “How are you doing?” Cher asked me. It was sort of a loaded question, an inquiry into my current day, but also my recent past, my lingering illnesses. “Actually, I’m really good. Finally starting to feel like normal,” I told her. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. We’re all glad you’re here,” Cher said.

Even though our friendship was relatively new, she was someone I immediately knew I could trust upon first meeting a few years before.

Something about the “you’re here” hit heavy. The phrase said the quiet part out loud, that being “here” may have not been possible. But it also said, people are thinking about you, caring about you, wishing the best for you. They want you here, in the present, and well into the future. Resilience is not just the strength we have within ourselves to recover. It is also about the strength we have for other people and the strength they have for us in turn. It is the strength we have to do things for ourselves and the strength we have to so things for other people, our families, our friends, our communities. They sustain us. I believe in you, they are saying. You are resilient. You’ve got this. And we’ve got you. Don’t forget. “No one has ever said that to me before. Thank you,” I told her with feelings of surprise and curiosity. “Well, I’m glad someone did,” she said. “I’m glad I could.”