Have you ever bought a new car and then noticed that wherever you go; you see more of your SAME car? How could it be? Are there really more of ‘your car’ on the road? And if not, what could cause our minds to see more of something?
A simplified explanation is: our brains can get tuned into something! Similar to how a tuning fork helps instruments or musicians get in tune; or broadcasters tell us to ‘stay tuned’ so we don’t change away from the radio or tv frequency; our brain helps us by taking short cuts to see more of what we are tuned into; even when the physical occurrences stay the same.
At the end of this year, my therapist gave me homework to note all the ways I built resiliency as a child. As I considered that, I couldn’t help but see resilience all over my life recently. I witnessed resilience in the human body as my partner successfully had an organ removed with cancerous cells in it. So far, bloodwork has shown those mischievous cells were contained in that removed organ! I am appreciative to the resolve and resilience of the CENTRL team of staff and board colleagues who helped prepare for coverage of crucial events so I could serve as caregiver.
I’ve also heard stories of resilience from the CENTRL community throughout the year. The curriculum has helped families prepare for the future as one mother got to tour the Arizona State Prison Complex in Tucson while her adult son was sentenced into the corrections system. Because of her tour, she was able to share with him more about the rehabilitation and reentry programs available to him.
The resilience of CENTRL friendships across party lines and over nearly 20 years was on display as Class 18 rallied around a classmate’s campaign. They helped Janeen Connolly win her race in Legislative District 8 to join the Arizona House of Representatives, our newest of four alumni in the current legislature.
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What several say anecdotally, we now have data to support: going through Project CENTRL strengthens your network. The image below is of Class 32’s amount of communication before the program.
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Some of our biggest opportunities moving forward are in strengthening the resilience of the local CENTRL networks so that alumni in each county can be as tight as each class. Imagine if the local CENTRL networks were as strong as Class 32's communication after they graduated pictured below!
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Even in talking with someone new to our organization who may serve as a keynote speaker in the year to come; he recognized that the work we do strengthens the resilience of each rural community one of our 700+ alumni return to.
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I find some of the most resilient images as I explore nature and I wanted to share them with you. A sole green surviving tree of the Big Horn Fire in this patch of the Catalinas.
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And another tree that grew right around this boulder in the Gila National Forest.
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When you look at your year that passed, where do you find resilience in your life?
Thank you for your work with me, the board and staff to increase the resilience of CENTRL and rural Arizona.
Scott Koenig, Class 21
Executive Director
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