Grateful for the Part That's Hard

“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”

~ Steven Pressfield from The War of Art.

I woke up 748 miles from home.

I was greeted with some Resistance.

And I am blessed and grateful.

My summer renewal story is beginning to unfold.

A story twenty years in the making.

A story of transformation.

And patience.

And resistance.

And writing.

And persistence.

And Presence.

And peace.

There was no coffee in our hotel room.

Or the lobby.

Here in Oklahoma City, our first stop.

Resistance.

Not a big deal. But an obstacle.

An obstacle keeping me from sitting down.

748 miles from home,

on the first stop

of this Writer’s Contemplation.

Seeking silence, and stillness.

Seeking contemplation and prayer.

Seeking Presence and practice. And coffee.

Yes, Steven.

Sometimes the hard part is simply sitting down.

So I’m here now, not far behind schedule.

Overcoming the first obstacle,

sitting down, writing,

and enjoying my favorite coffee.

Is it okay to be blessed and grateful?

Grateful for a black, dark roast coffee I found at a nearby Dunkin’?

The answer is a most definite yes.

In a couple of hours,

Jill and I will be in the OKC First Church

listening to Jon Middendorf.

We’ve already spent hours listening to and talking about

Richard Rohr and Rob Bell.

And Rachel Held Evans. And Jon Kabat-Zinn.

It’s all part of the journey,

the transformation,

and the Writer’s Contemplation.

Slowing down. Praying. Writing.

Sharing this experience with my partner in life.

Loving God, loving others, and loving life.

Day two of this journey, twenty years in the making.

The hard part of today is over.

Sitting down.

The “not the hard part” is living up to its name.

And here I am in silence and stillness and contemplation.

Blessed by Resistance and Grateful the Part That's Hard.