The Resilience Project

Why is it that young people in the Western world, who have everything they need – housing, education, food, supportive families – are suffering from depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance abuse and a plethora of mental health issues? Where have we gone wrong? Is it the materialistic world we live in, the influence of social media, peer pressure, or a future living with climate change and unaffordable housing? What is it about our culture that is making our young people feel there is little to be hopeful about?

Van Cuylenberg lived in India and taught in a school where the children had very little. Broken playground equipment scarce resources, and none of the technology that kids have today, their school environment was in stark contrast to schools on the other side of the world. And yet, these children were the happiest children the author had ever met. They were contented with what they had. There is a beautiful vignette early in the book where one of the children leads Van Cuylenberg into the playground of the school where he is about to begin teaching. The child points to the broken swings and see-saw and other bits of play equipment in states of disrepair. Look at what we have, the child tells his teacher. The little boy goes on to tell Van Cuylenberg that he feels lucky to have these things. Van Cuylenberg is astounded. He soon realises that what the children have done is this: They have made the best of what they have. The swings have no seats, so the children swing off the chains. Other bits of equipment are used for games the children make up. These children are creative. It’s a long way from the pre-teens in Australia whining because they haven’t got the latest iPhone.

Hugh started on a mission to find out just why these children didn’t appear to suffer from the angst that their western counterparts did.

Over time, Van Cuylenberg discovered that the characteristics the children possessed were gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness. Each morning, the children started their school day with meditation, which wasn’t compulsory. No student ever missed it. Nobody slept in. The children knew that this daily practice improved their quality of life. They demonstrated kindness to each other and were resilient to the hardships that came their way.

Van Cuylenberg started researching and working on a program that promoted the elements that he had seen work in India. He worked with corporates, businesses, elite sportspeople and whoever came to his seminars looking for answers. His project has gone into schools, clubs, charities, and organisations who wish to promote well-being.

The resilience project is written in an accessible style. Van Cuylenberg is self-deprecating and honest about his own shortcomings. He blends humour with serious issues and, most importantly, he shows us there is a way to live more peacefully with ourselves and others in an increasingly complicated world.