Resistance is Fertile
Art by Banksy
After a heady few days filled with glorious meditation and potent intention setting as befits the lunar new year, now we settle into the very real work required to bring those dreams to fruition. And hello resistance, that old party pooper showing up to rain on our parade.
Who is this dark creature that lives inside us as a voice of caution and naysaying? Why it's as much a part of us as our capacity to dream and create, lurking side of stage and tangled in the curtains.
Resistance takes myriad forms: self doubt whether niggling or crippling, the squeaky wheel of procrastination, the litany of excuses we conjure to delay or discard (the poorest use of our great imaginations) or straight out stubborn refusal to comply. The perfect partner to our inner critic, resistance is the very first hurdle to get over in any undertaking and therein lies its peculiar magic. Our resistance neatly points out to us the precise method we employ to unravel our grandest plans, muting the song in our hearts in favour of playing it safe.
When planting a garden, it is the soil that requires your attention first. Put your resistance to good use as the manure it is, deeply nourishing the bedrock that will support your intentions as they seed, sprout and finally bloom. Peer intently into its caverns and crevasses and trace the parallel path it has taken through your life. Come to know how it shows up so you can welcome its arrival as a signpost rather than a slammed door. This is the good work of the shadow and it is our job to know it and to love it as much as the light.
Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. If you are paralysed with fear it's a good sign.
It shows you what you have to do.
~ Steven Pressfield
Words c. Kerrie Basha, 2016