Weekend Reading

I am a tiny bit hooked on perusing Amazon for free books for my Kindle. It's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack and requires some patience (and it makes for an eclectic reading list). Recently I snagged a copy of The Woman's Book of Resilience: 12 Qualities to Cultivate by Beth Miller. It is a very interesting book!

When I finished reading it I realized I had no clue what the 12 qualities to cultivate actually were! I found the qualities listed underneath the chapter titles in the table of contents. I felt a little obtuse for not having noticed them sooner, and for not having absorbed them while I was reading the book!

Here, from Beth Miller, is the list of qualities:

1. I will admit and embrace my vulnerabilities.
2. I will practice and increase my ability to connect.
3. I will find parts of the problem that I can manage.
4. I will discover and get my needs met.
5. I will recognize and develop my own special gifts and talents.
6. I will develop my ability to say no.
7. I will increase my ability to transform resentment and forgive.
8. I will develop and use my sense of humor to help me through stressful situations.
9. I will explore the range of responses and possibilities to improve things.
10. I will endure suffering.
11. I will find meaning in the crisis.
12. I will stand alone, independent in thought and action, but I will not be afraid or reluctant to rely on others.

I think I've done relatively well at developing many of these qualities. I think there are a few of the qualities I need to work on. I am now re-reading through the parts of the book I had highlighted.

"I often wonder what our world would be life if each one of us committed ourselves to the inner shadow work, the work of looking for, admitting, and consciously integrating the darker aspects we all carry." ~Beth Miller, The Woman's Book of Resilience.