I love this Buddhist teaching. It saves me a lot of wasted energy. And I have used it over the past few days to open to the path my country has chosen into the future. But a really inspiring conversation with a friend recently gave me pause as he was very energized by the idea of resistance in the face of what may be coming for us all.
So it got me thinking about how important our words are and how I might consider both aspects of resistance.
In the Buddhist teaching, I believe we are being instructed to not fight what is upon us. We might prefer to wish the election hadn’t gone the way it did. We might think it not wise or fair or correct. Those thoughts are internal resistance. We might wish to hide from reality because things aren’t going the way we would have chosen.
When we resist internally, we are using up our energy with thoughts and mental action that will not bring fruit. It’s just spinning in circles. When I do this, I often get this mental picture of me being a child throwing a temper tantrum… “Wah… this isn’t fair!!” When I was a child, I like to believe there was a knowing parent nearby saying, “Yeah, it’s not what you want but in the long run, this will be best.”
The old Buddhist saying is asking us to not fight receiving of what is in front of us. It is here. If we resist seeing the path ahead, we waste so much energy and we can’t progress. We are called to accept the challenge and now what? What action can we personally take given these circumstances?
So what is the alternative? Well, I’m thinking it’s an alternative because I hadn’t really defined resistance from both perspectives for myself before. We resist externally. Given the state of our world, our country, what can you do to resist events that you believe are detrimental? For some, it might be taking the path of an activist. This is my friend’s calling. His plans are coming together and that path to take action is inspiring and energizing to him.
I’m not an activist in the traditional sense. But I take action also. I choose to not allow myself to feel hopeless and helpless. I get up, get dressed, exercise, eat healthy foods. And I get on with my work, which is helping others find their inspiration, their power. I want to help us all rise a bit higher, elevate a bit more, see more clearly a positive path ahead.
I am actively calling you to awakening to a better world. I don’t lead protests or write to legislators, although those actions are important. I march with my words to encourage you to build the new world through love and compassion. I believe an essential part of taking action is looking at yourself. Where do you need to refine your thoughts, words and deeds so that the world is healed? How can you look at another person and see the worth, value and magic in them even if they don’t agree with you, even if they can’t see those things in themselves.
So, whatever path resonates with you, my friends, don’t give up. .Don’t resign yourself to 4 years of pain. There is no point in resisting acceptance that our path is going to be much steeper in the future. But changes are essential and maybe the path ahead will help more people wake up now to finding their own love and compassion. This rocky road might provide the obstacles each of us need to see that we have a role in bringing change. The bumps ahead might lift us all to a new level of maturity to embrace that I am responsible for building this new world.
I am visualizing the best for all of us. Sending light and love to our world.
suni