Are You For Rather Than Against?
When taking a stand, it is important to be for rather than against.
Why does that matter? Because when you are for a thing, you are proactive and working on action. When you are against a thing, you are reactive, and usually working with inaction.
Carl Jung said, “What you resist not only persists, but will grow in size.” Consciousness creates reality. Because of this truth, when we stand against a thing, since that is where all of our focus is going, we tend to make that thing get worse.
This is why it’s important to give more focus and energy to what we are for rather than against. When our energy is for something positive, we can build upon it. This empowers us to effect change.
What if there is nothing to be for? The simple answer is that there is ALWAYS something to be for. While I will always maintain that we live in a world of greys and colors between black and white, the extremes DO both exist. Order/Chaos, Good/Evil, Light/Dark, Hot/Cold and so on. As such, if there is something for you to stand against, there is also something for you to stand for.
I know that sometimes it’s hard to see just what the thing to stand for is. Like the situation I wrote about expressing how #IStandWithDavius. There is an awful person doing awful things. Besides taking a stand against him, what can we stand for?
We can stand for everyone being impacted by this person. We can stand for writing to the Board of Directors to remove this guy from his position of “power”. And we can certainly stand for creating more inclusivity and fostering a favorable and welcoming environment for all.
Being for rather than against is not less powerful
When you look at the things that created change in history, the most powerful were always those that were for rather than against. Look at Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement he spearheaded. He was not against the system as much as he was for changing it. He was for inclusion, equality, and tolerance.
The Suffragists were for a women’s right to vote, not against the men who stood in their way. They were for equality.
Yoda offered an explanation of the Dark Side of the Force that actually applies rather perfectly to being against rather than for. “Quicker, easier, more seductive.” It feels a lot easier and faster to take a stand against something rather than to stand up for something.
Why? Because I think it is human nature to be reactionary. Or rather, we have become used to being reactionary as a society. Perfect example – a school district in Colorado will only have school 4 days a week to save the district money, because the locals could not approve a budget to increase money to support the schools. Now, all those parents will have to either take a day off or put their kids into child care, spending even more money than they would have paid in school bond taxes.
This is why it is so important to be for rather than against. When we are for something, we can create and maintain change. We can be proactive, and make improvements. When we are against, though, we are ineffectual, and without a solution are more likely to perpetuate an issue than resolve it.
Being for rather than against fosters change
When we take a stand for something, we are asking for change. In being for something, we are focusing on creation, which will help us to improve our lives, fix problems, and better our world.
There are still going to be challenges, but when we stand up with direction, we have an end goal in sight. This is positive vs negative energy. When we raise our frequency by creating and fostering positivity, we have a far better change of improving the world around us.
The important thing to keep in mind is that resistance is not futile. But the direction of our resistance matters. Resist against, you are fighting the current and gaining no ground. Resist for, and you are creating movement to truly effect change.
Do not give up. But if you find yourself against something, look to see what you can stand for instead. Whether it’s big, like the current President and his awful administration – or small, like a family member who disrespects you – seek something to be for in positive opposition. Being for empowers. When we are empowered, we can change the world.
Do you stand for rather than against matters that need to be changed?
This is the three-hundred forty-sixth entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for, and my personal experiences with, walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.
After more than 6 years of Pathwalking, I have launched a Patreon to garner support for these works, and more.
