In the spirit of yesterday’s consideration, I’d like to expand a little on what it means to “fight for life.” You’ve probably had the experience on occasion of having to reach deep down to overcome a challenge, problem or limitation. This feeling is part of the creative process and how you deal with this discomfort will go a long way in determining your trajectory in life.
I did a little caving in Eastern Europe when I was younger and I remember one particular “pinch” we had to pass that required a strong exhale to make my chest small enough to get through. It taught me an important lesson about maintaining forward movement in a creative cycle: sometimes you have to exhale, let go and push through to keep moving…even when every instinctive reaction in you is calling for retreat, or worse, panic.
The fighting of which I speak is not always externally obvious. At times fighting means relaxing more deeply into the assurance of being, the power of life itself. At others it might manifest visibly, where you surge ahead with all your might. Knowing when to employ which is one of the greatest skills you can ever learn. Knowing when to employ which is the very essence of wisdom.
You are capable of this wisdom. To reacquaint yourself with it you must get out of yourself. Getting out of yourself is accomplished in part by not throwing your weight behind every feeling that passes through your heart and every thought which passes through your mind. Take time to “try the spirits” as it was once put to determine their provenance.
If you act on every random feeling or thought without knowing from whence they come, you will move by fits and starts. If, however, you take time, let the process work out a little further, you’ll begin to see more clearly. You’ll see more clearly which doors lead to frustration and dead ends and which open to a brighter future.
You’ll have to fight against your programmed reactions initially, but habits of reaction can be retrained with diligence. If you find yourself in a panic, in the tumult of the unknown or the unfamiliar, breathe out, relax for a moment. Yield to the pressure and note what you feel. Where are the currents leading? Ask yourself: “What do I perceive that I was too panicked to notice before?”
Wisdom has not been removed from the earth, it is merely veiled from our sight by means of the working of the basic laws and principles which govern life. Work with life, fight for life and the veil will slowly but surely lift before your eyes and heart.
Gregory Hake 
I have really been working with this a lot lately. It is really important to be mindful enough to break the habit of instant reaction and take a step back to investigate. If you can’t manage this, you’re sunk, because you won’t see the opportunity to take a different path until it is gone.
I have found that when you take that step back, if an action is right it will usually stick with you over a bit of time.
Thanks for elaborating on this.
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Your words are a gift of kindness today. They settle the heart and reveal the wisdom required for forward movement living.
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This is more easily accomplished as I’ve deliberately worked to let go of the habit of judging everything. Realizing I didn’t have to have an opinion on everything was a great relief. I’ve found when I didn’t pause before I took action, it was usually due to the fact I was already subject to the situation. Learning to master pressure is a skill worth practicing. There are myriad nuances that I notice when I’m not stupefied in my own reaction.
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There is that sweet spot of attentiveness and action, where the two meet in perfect accord. That’s being in the zone as they say, and how much more does life’s grandeur open up to you when you hit the sweet spot. Act without measure and you can become impulsive and erratic, think too much and you don’t do jack. Both can put you in harm’s way. But, when the scales are level – nice, oh so nice! You then can contribute something to the world that’s meaningful and makes a difference.
Excellent advice on seeing how much of our ‘personality’ is much like software that can be upgraded. Bad habits need not define you and blind spots can be made whole.
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One aspect of wisdom that I realized (much too late) is that it’s ok to not answer a question. Sometimes, when in the heat of the moment, you’re unsure of what to say or how to move next, you can just say, “let me think about that.” This gives you time to assess any situation and re-think what might have been an impulsive answer or decision. Of course, you can’t always do this as sometimes an answer is needed right away, but we do always have a choice – we just have to always remember that and as we do, our ability to move quickly and accurately will improve!
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