Let’s listen to Martha Beck: “All of us have been taught to make things happen in the physical world. We know what it takes: setting goals, rolling up our sleeves, putting pleasure aside, and working, working, working, working, working. Then it helps if we work harder. Often we need others to help us work, so we must work to find them and work to motivate them with physical rewards (food,money, companionship,
approval) and?or physical punishment (pink slips, prison, breakups, criticism).

All of this is hard. It demands much time and effort from both the body and the calculating mind. As Genesis reminds us: ‘ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return’. ”

Somber statements. And to make matters worse Ms Beck had to use archaic language to quote the Bible. Lucky for me, several of my favorite books counter the Statements of M. Beck.

“Blood, sweat and tears aren’t what it takes to make real change. Instead it’s your imagination, beliefs and expectations that draw you into action, circumstances and coincidences that make dreams manifest and inevitable.” Mike Dooley’s “Infinite Possibilities” speaks as though there are no obstacles just possibilities.

“You Are the Answer by M Tamura explains obstacles thus: “When we are in resistance, we give our power away to the very object of our resistance.”

“Working on Yourself Doesn’t Work” says: “If you resist something, at best you narrowly define yourself against the thing you are resisting, at worst you become just like the very thing you resist.”

I will end this musing on a positive note: by praying according to the “Artist’s Recovery” : Teach me to trust that I deserve joyfully and peacefully to be my creative self as an act of worship to you.”