Several friends of mine recommended reading The Shack recently. I got a hold of a copy and have been enjoying the craft of a well-told story. When I read something that is based on or steeped in a particular spiritual belief, I take what makes sense to me and leave the rest. My Resistance Wrangler ears perked up around a few of the passages that I think are pertinent to the whole Resistance Toy idea:
~*~*~
"Tell me what you are afraid of, Mack."
"Well, let me see. What am I afraid of?" began Mack. "Well, I am afraid of looking like an idiot. I am afraid that you are making fun of me and that I will sink like a rock. I imagine that--"
"Exactly," Jesus interrupted. "You imagine. Such a powerful ability, the imagination! That power alone makes you so like us. But without wisdom, imagination is a cruel task-master. If I may prove my case, do you think humans are designed to live in the present or the past or the future?"
"Well," said Mack, hesitating, "I think the most obvious answer is that we were designed to live in the present. Is that wrong?"
Jesus chuckled. "Relax, Mack. This is not a test, it's a conversation. You are exactly correct, by the way. But now tell me, where do you spend most of your time in your mind, in your imagination: in the present, in the past, or in the future?"
Mack thought for a moment before answering. "I suppose I would have to say that I spend very little time in the present. I spend a big piece in the past, but most of the rest of the time I am trying to figure out the future."
"Not unlike most people. When I dwell with you, I do so in the present--I live in the present. Not the past, although much can be remembered and learned by looking back, but only for a visit, not an extended stay. And for sure, I do not dwell in the future you visualize or imagine...
"It is your desperate attempt to get some control over something you can't. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn't even real, nor will it ever be real. You try to play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try to make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear..."
~*~*~
This pretty much sums up the intention and the efficacy of a Resistance Toy--helping you to refocus your attention on the here and now, which is where all your power is, as opposed to revisiting the past and trying to populate the future from the lower registers of the emotional scale.
Humor and love--all great religions started here, and all great Resistance Toys are made from this place.
How's it going with yours?
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