“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Our “views” about things have certainly changed, flipped upside down to say the least. Now, right now is the precise time to abandon old thinking, move through the grieving of change and pursue revelation. The media messages of “uncertainty,” “unprecedented times” and “we’re in this together” are obvious, hollow and stale. We must go deeper, beyond and farther to pursue the #otherside with vigor, resolve and rigor.
Economic and health uncertainty is very real and daunting, but not impossible. The 24/7 news cycle reminds us that we will never be the same and promotes fear of the future. If we buy into it, we will miss out on this “seed-planting” time. This rare, unfamiliar and expansive space is prime time to create, re-imagine and innovate. Together, let’s release fear and get to work bolstered with a new energy, enthusiasm and fresh eyes to see new connections, patterns and paths through to the other side filled with hope and possibility.
Explore, dive and tap into your potential, innate creativity and abundant resources that are available right now. “Too busy” and “not enough time” have been eliminated as our standard excuses. We have an abundance of time right now so use it wisely. Do NOT waste this time stuck in old thinking, fear and paralyzing uncertainty. The playing field has been leveled. We really are in this together and it’s going to take all of us to get through to the other side together.
A few weeks ago, I started a morning journal to document and reflect on this rare time. Free flow writing, reflection and wandering into the unknown with confidence and courage. Stream of consciousness, uninhibited expression. This simple daily practice sets the proper tone for the day, creating an avenue and invitation to natural flow and ease. The writing is not perfect. It’s a first draft, seed planting that will result in harvest with cultivation, patience and time. Daily acts overcomes resistance to starting.
Steven Pressfield’s books Do the Work and the War of Art are brilliant and pivotal to “jump start” starting, to overcoming resistance.
In Do the Work, he poignantly defines the path to creation, to finishing, “We can always revise and revisit once we’ve acted. But we can accomplish nothing until we act.” It’s a two-fold process of action and reflection. Followed by more action and reflection. Act and reflect - as simple and complicated as that.
“Ideas come according to their own logic. That logic is not rational. It’s not linear. We may get the middle before we get to the end. We may get the end before we get to the beginning,” he continues. “Our job is not to control our idea; our job is to figure out what our idea is (and wants to be) – and then bring it into being.”
“The ‘real you’ must duel with the ‘resistance you.’” To define and delineate our collective journey, he identifies the enemies and allies:
Enemies:
Resistance – fear, self-doubt, procrastination, addiction, distraction, ego and perfectionism;
Rational thought;
Friends and family
Allies
Stupidity – don’t think, ACT;
Stubbornness;
Blind faith;
Passion;
Assistance – opposite of resistance;
Friends and family
He commands us to start before we are ready. Don’t prepare. Begin. Let ideas percolate. Let the unconscious do the work. End first, then beginning and middle. When we know the destination, we can reverse engineer the road to get there, the steps, the daily action.
In this time of “stay at home” orders and lock-down from COVID-19, busyness, over-commitments and time have been removed from the resistance list. This is precisely the time to dive into action, into a beginner’s mindset to learn new things, to pursue purpose and creativity. No exceptions. Seed-planting time, immersed in the pre-work of harvest, to the fruition.
If we allow and grant permission, seed time is overflowing with awakening, reckoning, generosity, purpose, discovery, excitement, depth, creativity, innovation, energy, delight, immersion, imagination, empathy, quiet, recreation and lots of walks and runs with the dogs. This is balancing time. What got us here, got us here. New thinking, creativity and starting will get us to our new “normal” and beyond the familiar. We are on the frontier of great personal discovery that will transform our collective whole.
Plant seeds. Start now. We are all depending on you!