Weekly Writing Prompt No. 66. The original Resistance is Futile post was written way back in 2017. I moved it to Substack from WordPress in 2020. My own resistance to current circumstances and the patchwork of unhelpful thinking around it has been on my mind a lot recently. It occurred to me I might find sharing the original post helpful, rather like taking my own advice!
Oh my gosh Lesley, I think this has to be one of the best poems you've shared in reponse the the writing prompts. It is so evocative of the challenge we humans face when trying to understand the nature of a spiritual self vs the physical self with the bigger concept of time.
I'm always surprised when people tell me the phrase comes from the Borg, because I always think it was the Daleks. Of course, in Dr. Who - it was probably the Cybermen - which is why it resonated for the Borg creators.
To resist is not helpful - but spotting our resistance is. Once we recognise that we are resisting, we can then think about exactly 'what' it is - and 'why' we are resisting it. I never resist accepting things as they are - that's all good - for me resisting comes into play when I'm looking at the next step, the one beyond the current comfort zone.
Given I used to watch Dr Who avidly as a child, you'd think I should have recognised the sentiment, if not the actual phrase so thanks for the reminder Lesley. And I like the idea you are planting that resistance is really about the choices and decisions we make in life. And, naturally, as life gets more complicated the number of choices and decisions we have available to us increase exponentially, thereby increasing the levels of potential resistance!
The Wheel writing prompt.
Whatever happened to
the idea of living in the
present, and savouring the
moment for the enjoyment it
contains. Adapting, and being able to
accept things
as they are. To make the best of it. As
if it was your great idea. Then
you may find that you gain experiences that
had not been thought of, that you would not have
chosen. In which case, you would find it more stimulating than your original idea!
Beautifully put Arthur, and now captured for the St Peters Church Flower Festival window for the Chesil Bank Writing Shed.
And so...to playing around with the actual prompt....
~ ~ ~
BETWEEN THEN AND WHEN
(after Eckhart Tolle)
Whatever it is, that creature crawling through
the undergrowth, the strangling jungle of my mind,
present thoughts are afraid of it, afraid of this
moment, which does not exist. The past
contains all that has happened, the future
accepts no prescription, the ‘now’ pales
as the shift of night into daylight.
If you could catch a breath forever, halt the stars,
you might then know how to be in this moment.
Had I known eternity, still I would have
chosen to let the world spin on.
It stalks me still, that dark creature: time.
~ ~ ~
Oh my gosh Lesley, I think this has to be one of the best poems you've shared in reponse the the writing prompts. It is so evocative of the challenge we humans face when trying to understand the nature of a spiritual self vs the physical self with the bigger concept of time.
Thanks Linda.
I'm always surprised when people tell me the phrase comes from the Borg, because I always think it was the Daleks. Of course, in Dr. Who - it was probably the Cybermen - which is why it resonated for the Borg creators.
To resist is not helpful - but spotting our resistance is. Once we recognise that we are resisting, we can then think about exactly 'what' it is - and 'why' we are resisting it. I never resist accepting things as they are - that's all good - for me resisting comes into play when I'm looking at the next step, the one beyond the current comfort zone.
Given I used to watch Dr Who avidly as a child, you'd think I should have recognised the sentiment, if not the actual phrase so thanks for the reminder Lesley. And I like the idea you are planting that resistance is really about the choices and decisions we make in life. And, naturally, as life gets more complicated the number of choices and decisions we have available to us increase exponentially, thereby increasing the levels of potential resistance!
I loved this - it really resonated with my own experience of just living, not fretting.
Thanks June and it sounds like your own resistance to life has slipped away. :-)