Resistance, Fear & Tomorrow
“Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize. We don’t tell ourselves, “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead we say, “I am going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.”
–Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
My soul has been yearning to write. And so here I am finally writing; in the early hours of the morning. Everyday up until this moment was an act of postponement in the guise of resistance. One may ponder, why such a movement of energy persists? If human beings are meant to be creative then why must struggle be an obstacle?
Fear – the only answer. Fear lurks deep beneath our psyche in many shapes and forms. From anxiety to rage, fear plays the multivalent role of protecting “me” from embarrassment and shame. I am afraid to write because I may sound stupid, or my persepctive may be “incorrect,” the list goes on and on.
But I don’t mean to stab fear in the back. Its role as protector has enabled our species to survive and evolve. Without fear, many other predators would have wiped us out. It’s also the case though, that our fear of the lion did not just make us hide, it enabled us to take risks. Risks that led us to innovate tools and weapons to fight and eventually prosper. Fear is hunger; it keeps us on edge while its scent lures us further into the depths.
The idea of “tomorrow” enabled our species to confront fear and transmute it into raw power and drive. But now, in the days of modernity, the idea of “tomorrow” no longer evokes a sense of survival. Instead, it is drowning in overwhelming comfort. Why? Because we have become lazy participants of each arising moment. Every moment has within it a vibrancy that encompasses the entire cosmos. Yet, we turn our attention away either to the past or the future as we blindly abandon the precious moment.
Like our ancestors, we have the capacity to meet each moment with urgency and awe. In that meeting, fear will undeniably show up. But I invite you to face Fear as though your life depended on it. Perhaps then, the idea of “tomorrow” will die and you will rise up from its ashes as pure creativity. It is in death that we find life. So I leave you with this: create as though there is no tomorrow.
