The Question I Always Ask Myself When in Resistance
8.7.23
Struggling or Suffering?
For a long time, this (paraphrased) quote by Pema Chödrön informed many of my decisions:
“Are you struggling, or are you suffering?”
Is there a difference to you? When you have struggled through something, what was the feeling on the other side? If you feel that you suffered, what did that feel like? How did you know? To me, struggling means “this is hard but not unsafe”. Suffering, to me, means unsafe in some capacity.
Another example: resistance in the context of movement.
We want time under tension, because that is what helps make us (literally) stronger—the tension and the discomfort are not necessarily bad!
An unsafe movement will send off immediate physical alarms: pain, a tweak, maybe we audibly yell out. However, if it is safe, just uncomfortable, it is that: uncomfortable but safe. Tense but okay. Hard but not harmful.
When is the last time you moved through something that was a struggle, but not unsafe? How did it feel afterwards?
I recently shared a bit about my experience with a job that I was very resistant to at first. But after I realized I wasn’t suffering—i.e. I could do it, it was just hard in certain ways— I decided to shift my resistance and channel it as positive energy. This didn’t happen magically! There was a decision involved.
When is the last time you consciously decided to shift your outlook/attitude/thoughts on a situation?
Leo Season Questions
Inspired by an astrology podcast, some Leo q’s to reflect on:
+What do I not need to overdemonstrate? What is embodied in me? What is something I don’t need to externally express?
+What CAN I do to showcase and celebrate myself? How can I express something externally that I haven’t yet?
Three Things
These are the same as last month but I have to say I love them all so much I wanted to repeat all three!
‘Tis the season of lots of sweat and mineral depletion. I love making a Mineral Mocktail (from Meg at Grounded Nourishment) or simply adding salt to my lemon water on the daily. Another fave brand of electrolytes = Superieur Electrolytes!
Jed has been reading Rick Rubin’s book, The Creative ACT: a Way of Being and is loving it.
My favorite way to support my mobility and recovery in movement-form is through Kara Duval Pilates. Kara approaches functional mobility through the lens of pilates, but think of it more of a lightly structured, guided movement style!
