A Blessing for Creative Tension

By Paul Dunion | October 17, 2019

You are a pilgrim, moved, pulled and directed by tension.
You were welcomed to this world by uterine muscle spasms.
Invasive contractions remained oblivious regarding your readiness.
Forces larger than you will come again and again, ushering
you somewhere you’ve never been. Let your early beginning
continue to inform you about the nature of the journey.

It’s a journey directed by creative tension. It possesses a
primordial knowing about birthing, beginnings, endings
and a tendency to extract you from the familiar.
A life is a series of being reborn again and again. At times
there may be adequate preparation, as much as you
pretend you know where you’re going, you won’t have a clue.

Let yourself be led by that first birth. Protest as you did
initially. Scream, shout, shake your limbs and cry large
tears. Such an objection offers honorable testimony to
the sacredness of the place you are leaving. Don’t leave
without letting the world know of your love and gratitude
for where you have dwelled.
Tension lives in the place where who you are unto yourself
meets who you are unto others. It was never meant to be
a perfect match. You may betray yourself by striving to
impress or becoming overly adaptive. These are non-creative
ways to lessen tension. You sacrifice creating yourself until
you devotedly live the question: Who am I with you?

Begin by accepting the tension unfolding as you step toward
the other. Breathe, let go of the usual way to respond to tension
by extending an empty and automatic, “How are you?” Notice
how you feel, and if it’s wise to voice the feeling. If not, let the
feeling slowly recede with each exhale. Decide if you want to
your body to remain with the other or graciously move away.

These simple movements will inform you about where you
belong. The act of belonging is highly creative and begins by
belonging to yourself in the other’s presence. Now, tension
moves beyond simply being uncomfortable. It unleashes the
power to bring you into each moment to the place that has
been waiting for you. Let that place embrace you.

       

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