Resistance.
This week’s topic for reflection is resistance. A few decades ago when I was a plumber, the new technology was the pager. I’d be driving along in my truck and my pager would go off with a phone number. Because we didn’t have cell phones yet I’d look around for a pay phone to call the number. The technology was just getting going and I was already having difficulty with it. Now it feels like the technology is trying to get control over more and more aspects of my life. I have strong resistance to this. I think I should be able to control the temperature in my house without the thermostat thinking it is smarter than me and changing the setting. With the technology attempting to make things easier and more efficient I’m feeling less in control and more vulnerable. I then dig in and resist. My resistance creates a separation that makes my ability to deal with the challenge impossible. My default is to become stuck believing a solution is impossible to find.
Resistance shows up physically in the body as tightness, mentally as closing down possibilities and emotionally as frustration. How do you create resistance in your life? Is it holding on as a means of control? “I’m not moving from this spot!” or “You can’t make me!” Notice the tightness and relax it if you can. If it won’t relax let it be.
Resistance seems to be a poor strategy. Letting go of the resistance is simply being open with a playful approach. Open to what is and the way it is and working with it.
As I age I’m slowing down as technology is speeding up. I’m being left behind and I need to be okay with this. I need to go at a speed where I can be more or less balanced and still be myself. I can ask for help with the technology when I can’t get it to work. People half my age don’t seem to be resistant to technology like I am. They seem to view it as another tool that can be worked with and don’t see it as a threat to be resisted. This morning I asked my son for help with my thermostat. He gave me some ideas to try and then suggested that If I really wasn’t happy with it I could hire someone to replace it with something I felt comfortable with. Sounds like a better strategy than reacting with resistance.
Please join us for morning Zoom zazen from 7:00 to 7:30 Tuesday and Thursday, and Sunday morning Zoom zazen and discussion of the topic for reflection blog from 8:00 to 9:00 Pacific Time. Here’s the Zoom link:
Meeting ID: 811 6100 3357
Passcode: 278259
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