resistance and resonance

a bit of riffing, wrestling, and expounding off a recent quote...

at a conference i attended a couple weeks ago, pastor Tyler Staton came on stage in a moment of transition between segments (not himself giving a keynote or leading a session) and said something along the lines of: "you might be feeling resistance or resonance with what is being said today - and in both there is an invitation."

wow. struck me.
and clearly stuck with me.

beyond the message of the weekend. beyond what i was experiencing in that moment. i keep finding it extrapolates well all over the place.

there is an opportunity for a pause and for curiosity there, for asking questions, for taking inventory - where am i? where is [this] sitting for me?

what is interesting - both can be generative. there is a time for resistance, and time for resonance. there is a time to lean in, and there is a time to turn around.

so which? and what do we do?

which direction is promoting growth, learning, love, thriving? which is stemming from shame, fear, scarcity, insecurity?

before the yes or no, go or stop - i have to identify what’s behind the frequency? what’s behind the resistance? what’s behind the resonance?

we live in a culture that loves the extremes:

one camp seeks and praises “doing hard things” vs another camp of treat yourself-ers and comfort seekers. but as with many things, the extreme is rarely the answer - for sure these camps are never always the answer even if they have their time and place.

the more i chew on this dichotomy though - i imagine the wrong path is often the one taken mindlessly or carelessly. a purposeful path in alignment with your values will look like resistance in some places and resonance in others.

if my stance is on shakey ground of insecurity or shame or “should”s….i might need to change my mind on my gut reaction.

or is my frequency coming from a loved, secure, whole place?…to which my gut can be trusted.

resistance or resonance.
lean in or pull back.

let’s consider resistance. in strength training - resistance is good and how growth and muscle strengthening occurs. however in hiking - resistance may look like bushwhacking which would indicate you’ve gone off trail. and at the same time, those situations can both have opposite considerations. there is a point when the weight of the dumbbells becomes harmful, not helpful. and in the mountains, resistance can be indication that you’re trailblazing, and there’s a unique accomplishment there.

and what about resonance. musically, resonance is the goal in making a unified, moving composition. unless the point is to draw contrast or invoke an unease for some other artistic message.

hard pivot (literally) to woodworking - staining and painting works best with the grain, not against it, in resonance with the form and fiber of the wood. but sanding is also a crucial process - a productive resistance in forming the final product.

so the answer is….

it depends. context matters. i think in the game of formation, both have a place and both have a role to play.

but noticing context takes noticing. it’s the intention that needs to be established and current state identified before the appropriate reaction to the stimulus can be determined.

if the collision of awareness and agency is the magic collision point of generating growth and thriving in our lives - i think the willingness to have intentional interruptions is the logical prerequisite for more of those collisions. intentional interruptions for reflection. for assessing the resonant and resistant frequency of the present stimuli.

then respond accordingly.
activate the agency to engage the inflection - not always the reactive automatic.

move towards or move away.
just keep moving.
that’s where growth and learning occur.