On a chilly windowsill, my flowering cyclamen blossoms in hot pink. Its five petaled blooms reach out from strong, spring-time green tubers, as a reminder, that against all odds, in season and out, we are called to thrive. It’s a brave little plant. Bold against cold.
Outside, the Midwest winter weather hangs on. Over the weekend we celebrated a one-day, balmy, thirty-four degrees, but today, the snow and cold are back for a visit. The grey skied afternoon, bringing big fluffy flakes, promises to lend six to ten inches of the stuff. Sub-zero temperatures are on their way back, too.
And, wouldn’t you know it? Today, without warning, the pipes felt like freezing. Have you ever considered how essential water is to cleaning and cooking and the general run-of-the-mill workings of a household? Without running water, my wine bottling project is stopped at the pinot noir. Chardonnay waits for another day, hoarding more than its share of precious kitchen counter space. Dirty dishes stand in crooked stacks. Limp laundry sits idled in huge heaps. Floors are so sticky, they stop people in their tracks. And, just to keep things random, two of my sons are doing a hearty P90X workout in the rec room. (Wait until I tell them, there’s not a chance for showers, no matter how sweaty and stinky they are.) The combination of frozen drains and snowed in people, in addition to paralyzing all practical endeavors, might just take its toll on my creative energies. Even so, I know it could be worse. After all, I’m not the one fixing the pipes.
The way my day is turning out, makes me think of Jennifer Fulwiler’s story, One Beautiful Dream. In it she details the difficulties she faced, beginning with her conversion to Catholicism from atheism, followed by having six kids in eight years. She had always wanted to write, but during this time of her life, she did as much writhing as writing.
Her message for women is clear, namely, that doing the thing we love keeps us connected; it recharges, reenergizes and refreshes us; it enriches the people around us and blesses the world at large. Fulwiler references Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art, where resistance is defined as the “force that pushes back”. “Maybe Resistance,” she says,” is trying to stop women from changing the world.”
Resistance wants to run, ruin and rule your day. So… get tough. Overcome obstacles. Persevere. Above all, stay in touch with your deepest dreams and wrestle to make them real.
I’m guessing that my household is a lot like yours. On a typical day, it’s bursting at the seams with people, projects and problems, making it impossible to stick to the perfect – made for success—routine. Somedays you gotta’ roll with it, and today, as the weather would have it, I’m slipping and sliding. That’s okay, and, in its own way, admirable.
Originally published February 6, 2019
