Which book do you recommend to help build resilience in children?
- Reeta Dhar
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
When it comes to building resilience in children, we recommend reading the fourth book in the Willow the Wonderer series, The Gift. The story in The Gift is built around an enduring piece of wisdom: Impermanence. This simply means that with time, all things no matter how difficult, impossible, awful or even wonderful, will eventually pass. In popular culture this is often expressed in phrases such as "nothing last forever" or the more classical reference "this too shall pass". This is an important wisdom to understand because during difficult times it gives hope to the reader to not lose hope or give into despair or fear -- and just keep going. Similarly, it is a reminder not to get caught up in the good times and lose one's balance of mind either, as even good things come to pass. Ultimately this is what resilience is about: Navigating life's ups and downs with grace. This is the lesson that little Willow learns with some help The Fox in the fourth Willow the Wonderer book, The Gift. We cannot recommend this book highly enough.
A book that teaches kids resilience
In the fourth Willow the Wonderer book, The Gift, our little hero learns the valuable lesson of resilience – the need to keep going even when the going gets hard, assured in the wisdom that in the end all things come to pass.
Here's a synopsis of the book:
Willow the Wonderer finds himself lost in the high mountains one day. As the mist clears, a mysterious fox appears and offers to be his guide for as long as he needs her.Â
Willow and Fox encounter steep mountain trails, windy passes and frightening cliffs. As fear and dread take hold of Willow, Fox shares the gift of her wisdom – the certainty that in the end all things will pass. But will that knowledge be enough for our little hero to overcome the challenges he faces?Â
The enduring wisdom of Impermanence
For those of you who are well versed in Eastern contemplative traditions such as Buddhism or Zen, the concept of impermanence will be familiar. And even if you are not, the literal meaning of the word is the wisdom: Everything and everyone in this world is impermanent.
It's hard to argue with this wisdom or should I say fact about our life and the world that we inhabit.
In more popular culture we express this insight as, nothing lasts forever. The more classical expression is, 'this too shall pass'.
'This too shall pass' is a hopeful message
During tough time, the understanding that 'this too shall pass' is a hopeful one.
It remind us that even the most difficult situations and circumstances cannot last forever. Eventually these too will go. The best way to get through it all, is to keep going.
This is the common interpretation of resilience in our Western culture: To show grit and determination in the face of adversity.
However, it's important to remember that resilience is a quality that we also need in the good times. Unfortunately this important message is often lost in our popular culture.
We need resilience in good times as well
Eastern contemplative traditions and Western philosophical traditions (e.g. Stoics) place a lot of emphasis on showing resilience not only during the good times but also when things are going swimmingly well.
They understood that maintaining a level head when times are good can be much harder. Even worse, not falling into despair when it all comes to a crushing end, as all things eventually do.
The lesson then is to hold all things lightly.
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This wisdom was very eloquently expressed by English poet and painter, William Blake, in his poem, Eternity:
"He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise."
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Like most of us, little Willow learns this lesson the hard way. Our hope by reading books such as The Gift, future generations grow up that bit wiser!