On a warm sunny morning after taking a little dip in London Fields lido ( heated and open all year round)! I strolled around Broadway market perusing the vegan street food stalls,taking in the aromas and feasting on the vibrant colours and fresh produce.

I ventured down to Hackney central and popped in, as I do to my local Crisis charity shop, not only a supporter of the charity but also a vintage bargain hunter that I am ! I purchased a little book produced by the Harvard business school on Resilience.

That’s a good subject I considered as I flicked through the little pages …

One of life’s missed qualities I thought to myself and read on.

Having just about completed the biography of my late Polish father ( more to follow on that one )..

I have been pondering this subject, because when I look at what happened to my father and countless others during the 1st and 2nd World wars and any other conflicts that have or are happening in our world at this time it has made me consider this…

How resilient are we ? not only as individuals but as a nation?

Would we cope with a major war again ?

We throw our toys out of the pram if the wifi goes down or our phone hasn’t got coverage .

What if we were put in different situations, would we find the resilience needed to survive?

Many years ago after reading the autobiography of The Virgin empire founder and CEO, Richard Branson , I discoveredthat he had been bought up in such a way as to develop resilience. His mother once sent him and his siblings out on a bike ride and they were told to find their way to their uncles house seventeen miles away, no food or drink or directions supplied just work it out…. they did successfully accomplish this and much more !

We live in a different world now but thinking about this as a child I was told to get on a bus on my own and go to junior school aged eight and make my way home again ! this involved trying not to lose your fare, fend off other kids, find my way to and from the bus stop!

I dare say we would be arrested or reported for neglect if we did that nowadays but as I said it’s a different world now .

A world in which the millennial generation are called snowflakes as they melt easily, run home to Mummy and daddy or become eternal gap year travellers trekking the globe on their inheritances or top ups never being forced to grow up or face up to the harsh reality of work and responsibilities.

Dinosaur ? no not really realist perhaps pragmatic ‘ don’t go putting stars in their eyes ‘ but don’t throw away their hope either .

Resilience can be nurtured, formed and encouraged starting in infancy and through to adolescence and adulthood. It takes strong,brave parents to not step in every time there is a problem or watching as your kids work stuff out for themselves.

Those who are often successful at resilience are the ones who are still around, working their way back after set backs, writing a book when no one has commissioned them, setting up a business after a failed one, getting back on the bike after falling off!

If you were to consider how resilient you are how would you measure it ?

I would think that the wonderful people of the West Indies who have settled in the UK are asking themselves this, how much more can they go through.

Considering all that is currently in the news regarding the Windrush deportations, there are endless stories of resilient people who have been treated appallingly by the Home Office.

People’s lives disrupted,families separated, protection and funding denied.

Resilience can’t be stored up only developed and many of the Windrush generation have already built up resilience towards racism, exclusion, white privilege and for many, poverty.

As I mentioned about my late Father who managed to escape the Nazis, the Russians and Romanian prison of war camp only to find himself in England facing racism, ignorance and bigotry firsthand, being overlooked for jobs and ridiculed. He was resilient but only to a point, the war was one thing but harsh cruel words were cutting and he never seemed to get over them, who would?

So on my quest to stir your measure of resilience I look around my now adopted town of Hackney which has suffered poverty, riots, segregation and now gentrification.

Everywhere I see different faces and different places , faces full of hope and some with disillusionment but generally for a population who keep getting kicked when their down I see a resilient people with self confidence, culture, hope and strength ready to fight another day and believe in themselves and their communities. Some are praying for the gang culture to end, some are mourning lost children,some are separated from loved ones who have been detained in detention centre or deported. The list is endless …..

Whatever cards you’ve been given or as the quote goes …..

‘ If life gives you lemons make lemonade’ !

But don’t ever take your white privilege for granted remember to pay it back, give something to others , help people , fight against injustices until this country becomes a fairer place for our children and grandchildren to flourish in!

From one pearl to another

Mags