Pillar 3. Nurturing Your Relationships. Recognizing Our Common Humanity

The Third Pillar: The Human Need for Connection

The third pillar to building resilience is nurturing your relationships, as the truth is that we all need people.

The starting point for building these social relationships is to begin by recognizing our deep, shared common humanity.

Although this may seem like a very abstract concept, I want to suggest that it is actually absolutely vitally important to our well-being and strength.

This pillar invites us to shift the focus from ourselves to others, understanding that connection is one of the greatest sources of strength.

The False Sense of Isolation in Suffering

In the midst of our own unique difficulties, we often tend to forget our connection with others and feel completely isolated.

We have a tendency to isolate ourselves emotionally, especially when we are carrying secrets or burdens, which increases our discomfort.

We fall into the mistaken belief that others somehow have it much better than us, which makes us feel even more alone.

This feeling of loneliness prevents us from seeking the support we need, as we think that no one could possibly understand what we are going through at that moment.

Discovering That We Are Not Alone

One of the most healing discoveries we can make is realizing that, in fact, we are not alone in our struggles and our pain.

The truth is that all of us, as human beings, have been through difficult things throughout our lives, without exception.

Many of us have grown up in families that were imperfect or harsh, and we still carry the internal scars left by our own past.

All of us, regardless of our condition, fail, make mistakes, and experience stress, difficulties, and even suffering as a natural part of our existence.

It feels great to be able to get our tests into the light of day, for in doing so, we not only heal, but also recognize our