Tug Of War

Some people think it's holding on that makes one strong; sometimes
it's letting go.

- Sylvia Robinson
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the midst of dreading another disagreement...another tug-of-
war with a loved one, I had a thought. It takes two sides to play
ideological tug-of-war. What if I simply let go of my end of the
rope?

The game of tug-of-war involves two sides pulling on a rope as hard
as they can, with each side trying to topple the other. To win, you
can either pull the rope hard enough to drag your opponent over to
your side—or you can let go of the rope at the peak of the contest,
when both sides are straining as hard as they can in opposite
directions. Then your opponent goes flying, because your resistance
was what was holding him up.

So, as long as I held fast to my end of the tug-of-war rope...or as
long as I resisted, full of righteous indignation...the other side
would keep pulling just as hard in the opposite direction. My
struggle doesn't weaken my opponent's position—it supports it. The
secret is to be non-resistant...to affirm that there is only One
Power and One Presence in my life, God, who is Good, who is
Omnipotence. It isn't giving up...it is giving way to Spirit.

Yesterday I let go of my end of the rope two times.

Donna