Resistance

When we are young there seems to be little if any resistance. We simply move from one task to the next without labeling what happened before and without much preconceived notion of what is to come. Actions and emotions happen in real time and are rarely affected by what happened before. Nor are they affected by the fear or anxiety or even excitement of what is to come.

Our kid is 8 weeks old today. He lives in real time. One minute he is lying on his back, moving his arms and legs, looking around and making noises. The next he is asleep. The next he is quite obviously hungry but that is immediately soothed by the boob. Then he goes to the bathroom and might get a bit squirmy if you leave him in dirty pants for too long. He is quite content to be on his own for brief periods but also likes hanging out with other people. He's good with anyone and everyone, there seems to be little attachment to either of us except of course for the food aspect.

So where do we go from existing without judgement and labels to having preconcieved notions of things and anxiety towards certain things? Somewhere along the line we seem to go backwards when considering awareness of the present moment. At some point everything we see and hear is attached to a label or an experience. I suppose this is a good thing if we are coming up on a red light or going near a hot stove but I would argue that it's not always a good thing.

I think at some level we begin to create resistance to the natural flow of things. Actions and decisions become stifled by the baggage we carry from past experience. How many times have you heard the idea that starting something young is the best way to get really good at it. In sport and things like music or language this is often the case. Perhaps the younger you are the less resistance there is to new things, new ideas.....they are simply absorbed into the brain and nervous system.

Somewhere along the line I think we create a field of resistance to this natural flow of incoming stimulus. Everything that comes in is soon attached with a label and categorized. A great deal of the reading i've been doing lately would suggest that this is the work of the ever growing ego. The part of the person that judges, labels, needs to be better, is afraid of being worse....and so on. Of course I often relate reading experiences like this directly to sport immediately attaching my own meaning and labels to the ideas which in itself is kind of funny.

When you watch a baby or child taking things in and learning new things like how to crawl, it's rare to hear anyone say "wow, that kid really sucks at that. can you believe it's taken that kid 6,7,8,9 months to learn to crawl?" Instead we are usually watching with awe at how they naturally move from one phase to the next. We are more accepting of the idea that they are at where they are at and isn't that just amazing. When we are adults however, learning new things can often become frustrating if you don't catch on quickly. I wonder if this is because we attach our progress with labels and judgement almost immediately. We compare to everyone else without realizing it. I believe the irony of this is that in doing so we create resistance to actually learning the task. Not only are we trying to learn it but we are doing it with the baggage and weight of the judgement that goes along with it. I'm quite certain a baby isn't looking around thinking.....wow, i suck at crawling. They don't even need to fathom the idea of "accepting" where they are at......they just are where they are at. Complete presence of mind without judgement.

I've often wondered how a guy like Federer does it. I don't necessarily believe in the idea of being a "chosen one". I think for the most part we all operate under the same set of neurons. Some people perhaps have a better grasp on how to control the internal workings. In a sport like tennis there are literally hundreds if not thousands of players that would appear technically and skill wise as good as Federer. So how can he dominate in such stacked environment?

I would argue that he simply has a more fundamental understanding of how to stay present. The ability to exist one point at a time in tennis or one shot at a time in golf would give someone with exceptional skill level a considerable advantage over someone who is constantly dwelling on past points or hoping for future points.

The trouble with past and present is that it is often labeled with judgement. The trouble with judgement is that it is heavy....whether good or bad....it ads weight to the current situation...it ads a layer of thought that weighs down the current moment. The trouble with weight is that it causes resistance. Resistance to actions of the present moment.....or in another word...baggage....mental baggage.

People often describe Federers movement on court as floating. Perhaps this is because he carries little if any good or bad baggage from past points.....perhaps he simply exists point to point.

This is not to say that certain reactions don't come about by knowing and understanding an opponent or teamate. Watching the NHL playoffs it seems like the guys sometimes have eyes in the back of their head when they make some passes....I would say this ability can only come about by knowing and understanding who you are playing with or against and knowing where they are or what they do in certain situations. I wouldn't call this resistance or baggage however because there is no judgement attached to it.......UNLESS of course you start comparing yourself as either good or bad, better or worse to that person......judgement, baggage, weight, resistance.

I think when people talk about being "in the zone" it is basically just another way of saying "in the now".