Modern Totems, Beaverton, OR
In his book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes about resistance. Unfortunately, I deal with resistance constantly; it sits too often on my shoulder. But then, there is the muse, the other force at work in our creativity. The good news is she is also omnipresent if we are awake to her presence.
I went to a lecture a few weeks ago; the speaker was Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the popular book, Eat, Pray, Love. Her talk was thoughful, thought provoking, and very entertaining. The idea she expressed and which grabbed my attention immediately, was this: ideas constantly swirl around us. She says all ideas are available to everyone; they present themselves to many until one person listens and actually acts on and develops the idea. What happens when an idea comes to us and we either don’t notice or notice and don’t act on it? Bingo! That idea goes on to someone who will act and move forward with it.
How many times, I ask, have I let this happen? How many times have you thought of a great scheme, not acted and read in the news later that someone else has made a great success of or has written the great novel, with your idea?
Lately, ideas and cues have been flooding my brain. It is clear that “the work” is calling and I need to move forward. Taking “the work” from dream-idea to reality is another challenge. Contrary to what may seem the case, moving forward still requires diligence in pausing and noticing. I must be fully aware of distractions that rear their evil heads, ready to slow the onward march of the project. During each pause and act of exhaling my breath, I let my brain clear the clutter and move on to the next task. My business mentor and friend, Jackie B. Peterson, calls our many distractions Mission Creep. As I exhale and breathe, I am able to discern whether postive progress is at hand or whether mission creep is stealing itself into the action plan.
For me, mission creep and resistance are very sly and ready to slither under the door of progress. But, by sticking with the daily and moment to moment practice of using breath as a tool, I find the space to move forward. Finally, resistance and distracdtions dwindle, and the angel-muse can take the reins to move me and my project forward. Forward to my greater calling and work. Sabotage of the dream has been halted and inspritation has won!