Befriending Resistance

best ways to move through the rough waves

Whether I’m trying to create or trying to heal, the issues are often the same: I come up against parts of myself full of fear or doubt. This is normal. Say hello to Resistance. Sometimes an Inner Critic, or a People Pleaser, often a Doubter, much of the time a Distractor, whatever arrives, I welcome and befriend.

There's a reason the Ancient Greeks created a theatron (seeing place) where citizens took in stories consisting of anagnorisis (moments of recognition). We cannot change until we recognize we have a problem. Moments of recognition lead to catharsis (letting go/a release) through which we are transformed. Playwriting 101. Stasis (the way things are) > Conflict (rising action)>Recognition > Catharsis>Transformation.

Isn’t this what we all want? How can I transform my life? How can I heal? Find wholeness? Create some post-traumatic growth? Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?

If I don't know I'm in the tunnel, I can't find the strength to look for the light at the end of it. There is no idea of the end. Only darkness. That sense of forward motion we love in narrative is the glorious feeling of moving forward. If we can do that, we have agency! Possibility! A different future! 

Once you recognize Resistance is there within you, you must invite it to tea. Or coffee. Or wine. Your Resistance is not your Enemy. Your Resistance holds some important information for you. It may show up as different Parts at different times. Only you can find out the purpose of your Resistance.

Welcome it. Thank it for showing up. Work to develop trust as you get to know it. Appreciate it for doing its job. Find out who or what it’s protecting. This doesn't have to take long. While I do this work privately with many clients, I’ll be offering a workshop so anyone can befriend their Resistance. It's an important step in the process of being able to live and create from your whole self. 

Once you can recognize and welcome your Resistant Parts, you can take a more active part in your healing and/or creativity. I am not trying to say that you are at fault in any of this. We are often completely fooled by Resistance which feels completely real. For years I could not write because I was terrified of what I would discover. For decades I lived in pain with chronic illness because I was being sent messages from my Parts that I could not interpret. Learning to welcome my Parts changed my life and my ability to live creatively. 

What happens when you welcome your Resistance and try to get to know it? Can you recognize it as a Part trying to get your attention? Or a Part trying to keep you from working creatively? How can you get to know it better? 

all images from Scott Sherman at scottshermanstudio on instagram

Writing Prompt:

I've been enjoying the photographs of Margaret Bourke-White (1906 - 1971). You can find them here. And here.

She broke a lot of new ground, not just as a photographer during WWII, the first to be authorized to fly a combat mission, but for her aesthetic and her eye. She was able to highlight details that might have gone unseen. She made us see in new ways by the way she treated sunlight and shadows. Isn't that what we try to do as writers? 

Pick one of her photos and create from it. Some of the characters in her photos speak to me in long meandering monologues. Others in short poetic fragments. Let them prompt you in different ways - to create a sense of place or a moment of drama, to find an emotional tone or a way to weave a new narrative. They give me permission to be as brave as she must have been. Unflinching. Daring. Try describing one in simple language. Put yourself there. See what arises within you. Let this flow out onto the page as a way of discovering something vital inside, something you didn't know was there. 

Announcements:

I’m presenting a part of my play Abraham’s Daughters (podcast here) and teaching a writing workshop at a Theatre Symposium on Myth, Magic and Madness at Washington & Lee University, March 21st and 22nd. All events will be free and live streamed! More information HERE including the link for the livestream.

BEFRIEND YOUR RESISTANCE WORKSHOP, Saturday, March 30th, 12-2pm ET More Info HERE

Tune in Monday, March 11, 7pm ET for a virtual reading of LADY CAPULET by Melissa Bell presented by Barefoot Shakespeare Ensemble on Streaming Musicals Youtube Channel

Andy Boyd’s play 3 Scenes in the Life of a Trotskyist at the TANK, tickets here

Go see Boy My Greatness by Zoe Senese-Grossberg produced by The Firebird Project HERE

March 18, 7pm, you can stream Jennifer Maisel's Yellow Wallpaper 2.0 directed by Jackson Gay from the Lucille Lortel Theatre's Alcove New Play Development Program HERE

BRAVE SPACE SCHEDULE:

For the week of 3/11 - 3/15/24:
Monday at 12pm ET
Tuesday at 12pm ET w/wkshp & accountability
Thursday at 12pm ET
Friday at 12pm ET

For the week of 3/18 - 3/21/24
Monday at 12pm ET
Tuesday at 12pm ET with wkshp & accountability
I'll be at Washington & Lee the rest of this week

For the week of 3/24 - 28/24
Monday at 12pm ET
Tuesday at 12pm ET w/wkshp & accountability
Thursday at 12pm ET
Friday at 11am ET (regular Brave Space)
Friday at 2pm ET Brave Sharing Salon 

I hope you will join me in Brave Space for all I can offer you in terms of creative support! Send me your intention to show up for yourself by responding to this email or emailing me at emmagoldmansherman [at] gmail, and I’ll send you a link. The morning of your session, I’ll resend the link with the prompt. It’s $5-20/session payable via Venmo Emma-Goldman-Sherman (8102 if they ask).

JOIN THE RESISTANCE!

Onward,

Emma