Life: The Play of Resisting & Receiving – Resilience
There are times in life when everything feels stuck. You’ve been there—feeling trapped in your current circumstances, wishing for a change but unable to move forward. The clarity, patience, and acceptance needed to cope with life’s challenges seem out of reach. In these moments, emotions like anger, frustration, sorrow, and raw pain rush in, sometimes overwhelming us entirely, other times lingering like a heavy cloud. The desire to escape can feel all-consuming. You wish for the pain to end, hoping it won’t return. But, as we all know, life doesn’t often unfold according to our wishes.
For years, I too found myself caught in this cycle of resistance. I would fight against the flow of life, unable to accept what was. But something profound has shifted in me over time—something that has altered the way I relate to my challenges and experiences. I stopped resisting life. And while I won’t pretend that I don’t still feel moments of frustration or impatience (let’s be honest, we all have those), what’s different now is my approach. I’ve cultivated trust and curiosity, letting go of the fight and instead welcoming what life presents with a sense of openness.
Life is no longer my enemy.
In fact, I’ve learned that when we stop fighting against the flow of life, we make space for the good that is waiting to enter. The opportunities, the growth, and the expansion—these things are always there, just beyond the horizon. But it’s only when we stop resisting that we can truly begin to receive. Ironically, it was through learning to embrace the challenges, the discomfort, and even the pain, that I’ve come to understand the nature of true growth.
The Power of Letting Go and Expanding
I won’t sugarcoat the process—learning to navigate change and loss has been an intense journey. Growth, it turns out, often requires us to make room for something new by letting go of what no longer serves us. In a sense, it’s like the process of pruning a tree: cutting away dead branches to allow fresh growth. This kind of expansion can feel dizzying, overwhelming even. But what I’ve learned is that to create space for the good that wants to come into your life, you have to make peace with uncertainty and loss.
Expansion requires comfort with discomfort.
The growth I’ve experienced wasn’t all smooth sailing. It came with challenges, moments of intense change, and periods of uncertainty. But instead of resisting those moments, I embraced them, knowing they were a part of the bigger picture. Each phase of discomfort became a stepping stone toward a more fulfilling and expansive life.
The Role of Pain in Personal Growth
When you’re in the thick of pain or discomfort, it’s easy to view it as something to escape from. But what if, instead of running away, you embraced it? Think of those moments of tension and resistance as the soil being tilled for future growth. The next time you find yourself caught in pain or feeling constricted, pause. Rather than seeing it as something bad, see it as an opportunity to build resilience, to master the intensity of life’s ups and downs. And equally important, knowing it’s the precursor to joy.
I’ve found that leaning into these moments—sitting with the discomfort—has been an essential part of the process. The more we practice staying present, breathing through the pain, the more we strengthen our ability to navigate life’s inevitable challenges with grace and fluidity.
A Practice for Embracing Life’s Lessons
The next time you find yourself deep in pain or struggling with a difficult situation, try this simple practice: Instead of resisting the discomfort, breathe into it. View it as an opportunity to develop mastery over the more intense emotions and states that life will inevitably present. Know that it’s a temporary sensation and that, like all things, it will pass. We move through discomfort far faster when we observe it as sensation only, without the old storylines that bloom our old hurt and pain. With each passing moment you do this, you are building your inner resilience and preparing yourself for the expansive opportunities that lie ahead.
Life is a dance between resisting and receiving. We can’t always control the challenges that come our way, but we can control how we respond. When we stop fighting against life and open ourselves to receiving what it offers, we create the space for our deepest growth and greatest blessings.
Conclusion: The Journey of Receiving
Resisting life’s challenges is natural, but so is the natural cyclical process of life. The good, the bad, and everything in between—these are all part of our journey. When we shift our perspective and stop fighting against what comes, we can start to see that every moment, even the painful ones, carries with it the seeds of future growth. This practice of allowing life to unfold, without the need to control or resist, creates a powerful foundation for lasting personal transformation and joy.
