Arleen Hannich, MA |
Spiritual Facilitator |
 |
The Divine ConnectionA Collection of Articles by Arleen HannichAHannich@bellsouth.net / (919) 460-3028 / www.ArleenHannich.com |
Dog-Tired From Resisting Life?
With the current economy and all the uncertainty, it is easy to understand why we might feel ourselves moving into resistance. Resistance may stem from fear and anxiety, but in many cases it comes as a very familiar, knee-jerk reaction to change.
But life only gets more complicated when we resist "what is." When we resist, we place obstacles on our own path. Many times something that could be handled quite simply, and to our benefit, gets blown out of proportion due to our own resistance. And when we resist, we often miss easy solutions or opportunities that are being brought to us. (Yes, even today we are surrounded by wonderful opportunities!)
Resisting "what is" is futile. It looks a lot like you trying to push a huge building over with your bare hands. You are able to do nothing against that which you are fighting. But in the meantime, you wind up tired, bruised, with muscles strained, and sometimes in real pain. Even if you gather all your friends to help you push down the building, you still have no impact on it whatsoever. Now you just have a bunch of friends who are tired and bruised too.
When we practice accepting "what is," on the other hand, we maintain our alignment with the Divine, feel a great sense of relief, and have greater access to our energy and creativity.
One of the places I've seen this shift most clearly in my life is in relation to my cats. Two times now my cat Bastet has been prescribed medication, which I "just knew" was going to be impossible for me to administer. In both these situations, once I became conscious of my resistance and chose to accept the current reality, the situations shifted. The first time, new options suddenly became available, and I was able to give Bastet two different cardiac medications without pilling her. The second time, when her intestines were in distress, I was Divinely led to a different vet, and we were able to bypass surgery and medication simply by removing grains from her diet!
You may not even be conscious that you are resisting "what is," so it may be helpful right now to look for the different times and ways you resist the current reality in your life. I've given some pretty obvious examples above, and I'm sure the economy is having an impact on its fair-share of folks, but just as important are the little things you may be resisting day in and day out. Though less obvious, these "minor" items may be adding up and taking their toll on you.
Do you resist how you look in the morning? Do you resist the weather? Do you resist something about your car or home? Do you resist a certain person(s) day in and day out? Do you resist when things don't flow according to your timetable? Do you resist when the Divine asks you to stretch and grow? many elephant seals. We also walked several other beaches in the Santa Cruz area searching for tidepools and spying seals swimming in the ocean.
The beauty of this area and this time reminded me of one of the easiest ways we can connect with the Divine--doing things we really enjoy. For me, that probably means I'm out walking in nature. What is it for you? Gardening? Cooking? Reading? Painting? Writing? Playing with your dog? Sometimes, you may want to take a break from all the teachings that tell you how to connect with the Divine and instead, just do what you love to do. Do what is naturally "right" for you and gets you in that "zone." Better yet, bring more of what you love into your daily life--that's a great way to deepen your connection with the Divine!
