Most of us do not feel strong first and then act bravely.  We act – shakily.  We endure – imperfectly.  And then we try again.  Only later do we look back and think: I didn’t know I could do that.  Strength is often retroactive.  Narratives help us notice this.  Agency gives us chances to practice it.  Creativity gives us tools to express and integrate it.  Together, they reveal a truth that was there all along:  You are not resilient because you never fall.  You are resilient because you keep finding ways to rise, reshape, reconnect, and reimagine.  And over a lifetime of doing that, again and again, a quiet knowing grows:  You are stronger than you think.