Don't Believe What They Say About Adversity! --HAWMC #21

Also at http://ulteriorharmony.org/?p=135

Today’s Prompt:

• “The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.” – Mulan. True or false? When do you bloom best?

The tree is dead, but life blooms from its demise, still in the grip of winter.

Well, I could go all analytical on this statement and its logically possible interpretations, like I always do. An oasis in the desert seems so much more beautiful than it would in the middle of humid country. What's rare is special. This is both about our achievements and about the sort of environments it behoves us to seek out. A flower in adversity is especially beautiful because it's rare--a perfect mixed metaphor.

No!  No, that's not the way I'm going to go today! Rant alert! I'm not denying the triumph of achievement under duress and against the odds. I'm not denying that sometimes hard and lonely work leads to deep satisfaction. Least of all am I denying that those of us with health conditions are capable of producing some of the most outstanding creations.

But PLEASE! Stop with this myth that any worthwhile creation has to be the result of working to the death-bones! Stop with inciting this competition to see who is working the hardest, who pulled the most all-nighters, who is the most burnt out and sleep-deprived! Stop with the images of business-people walking around with one phone in each ear and all sensory orifices blockupied, so important, so disconnected from the pulse!

I first encountered this mindset in grad school, where several of my peers seemed to consider it a point of pride to see who was the most overweight or had stayed up latest (working, not drinking) the previous night. They couldn't fathom my spending a significant chunk of time playing music. These were brilliant people (and unlike me, they knew where they wanted to go, and got there), but is that the only way?

What about the "lightbulb moment?" How many stories have you heard of a piece of music or poetry that pretty much poured out of its writer in a short time? How many times have you created something beautiful and then questioned it because so little effort was involved? The most world-changing creations are often effortless.

The other part, the "environments it behooves us to seek out" part, is encompassed in "The Spoon Theory." Worth a read, if you haven't already, this heart-sourced story shows with unminced words and a memorable metaphor how life happens day to day for someone living with a chronic condition. Good days and bad days and worse; the good days themselves hung about with accommodations and difficulties. Yes, even on a good day we're dealing with stuff. All of us.

Here's the bottom line: I do not do my best work on a bad day. I do not do my best work as a writer/translator/editor/blogger. I do not write good poetry. I do not do my best work with self-care, which makes things worse. I do not do my best work driving my car, getting my list done, or interacting with other people.

There is adversity aplenty just moving from one day to another. The idea that the best work can come out of adversity is tantamount to telling me not to take my meds or advising someone who needs oxygen to leave their tank at home.

No, you guys! Quality of focus, not quantity of slog. Be open to the gift of inspiration to do your best work, and be okay with making your life conditions as comfortable as possible so your stress is reduced and you can be more open to inspiration. When I can allow that, my "conditions" are less in the forefront and I'm more likely to receive the inspiration too.

I'd love to make this a theme, to invite you all to join in banishing the "no pain no gain" mentality and replacing it with something more receptive, more optimistic, and more kind to the soul.