Photo credit to Celia Haddon

Do you go down rabbit holes? Does it take you off course?

My invitation to rabbit holes is resistance. For me, resistance is not so much about staying stuck in one place as it is about not staying the course. Instead of persisting, of staying the course, I resist—by chasing rabbits. I’d much rather race down a rabbit hole than stick with what I should be doing. Maybe one day all those rabbit holes would end up taking me to my desired goal, but even if that happened, it would have taken a great deal more time and I might not even recognize where I was. Since now is time I have, I must pay attention to where I am going.

My resistance is like a thin barrier that I bounce against and find myself stymied. Walls are big and obvious and usually require help, but not the slightly flexible film that I bounce against. I am the one who must get through this. Others may cheer me on, but it is my task to accomplish.

As I rebound against that opaque wall of resistance, I start chasing rabbits, running excitedly rather than standing before that translucent wall of fear. And while I know that fear and excitement are but a breath apart, often I forget to be still enough to take the breath. If I slowly, surely press on until I lose the feeling of being stopped and engage with the feeling of persistence, I can make it.   My attention must focus into a fine laser point cutting through the haze of resistance so I see more clearly my authentic direction. Having faced, felt and broken through that membrane of fear, success follows, maybe big, maybe small, but onward movement.

Of course, the momentum gets me running again…