Being Persistently Persistent Like a Weed

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I have a stubborn streak. A strong one. I can be persistent. Very persistent.

There have been times when my persistence and determination got me in trouble. I would be overly focused on something that I’d ignore the signs along the way nudging me to take a different course.

But such is Life.

We grow through experience. Our experience. On our own. Our terms. Not others’. Well, for me, at least.

I live according to my terms. Not simply by what others tell me. And especially not to satisfy society’s expectations. Or because it’s tradition.

Being the free spirit and indigo that I AM, there’s just no way that I will allow myself to be told, worse, dictated what to do — especially how to live my life.

Often, I’m already thinking of doing what others are telling me. But because their words — well-intentioned as I’d like to believe they are — would come ahead of my taking action, the rebel in me — alright, bratty little Nadine — chooses otherwise. Just because.

With all my hits and misses, what I’ve learned is if there’s that one thing that I must be persistently persistent about, it is in Shining My Light.

Write Like a Weed. Be Like the Weed.

In this post by Jamie Wallace of Live To Write — Write To Live, “Short and Sweet Advice for Writers: Write Like a Weed,” she makes a wonderful comparison between writing to being like a weed.

“Ahh, the humble weed. Scorned, belittled, hacked at, trod on, uprooted, and taken for granted, these tenacious flora still manage to proliferate. Undaunted by our judgment of their unworthiness, they flourish in every available crevice. They are not affected by our opinions.  They do not compare themselves to other plants; they just keep reaching up toward the sun and drilling down toward the water.”

And it hit me that as she advises writers to write like a weed, I may just as well live like a weed.

Be like the humble weed.

I must “keep reaching up toward the sun,” the Light, as I “drill down toward the water,” toward whatever it is that nurtures, nourishes and feeds my soul and spirit. I must be consistent — and persistent — about it.

Jamie continues,

“Far from being particular about soil conditions, weeds grow almost anywhere. There is nothing delicate about these flowers; they are more fierce than floral. Weeds are stamped on, sprayed with noxious chemicals, and pulled out of the ground, yet they persist. Determined hands scrape the dirt away, cruelly exposing their naked roots, but somehow they manage to survive.

Even when it looks as though the weed has succumbed, when no stem or leaf is left above ground as evidence of the weed’s existence, even then the weed lives. Deep under the ground it’s roots continue to thrive. They dig in and hold on, defiantly wrapping around tree roots and stone, refusing to admit defeat. It won’t be long before a new shoot emerges into the light.

Write like this: write like a weed. Do not care if others judge you. Do not let comparison distract you. Do not wait for the perfect conditions. Do not let any word or deed or inner fear keep you from continuing to do your work. Just dig in and write. Stay focused. Stay true. Do what you were meant to do. Be what you were meant to be.”

There were times in my life when I may have been stubborn, determined and persistent — to a fault. (If not, hey, Taurus in my Sun may just as well have been erroneously positioned in my astrological natal chart, eh?)

My persistence may have led me to more challenging episodes that weren’t exactly necessary. It could have been avoided had I put my persistence and determination to better use.

Thanks to Jamie’s post that came as a timely reminder. (Don’t most, if not all posts turn out that way?)

I AM writing like a weed. I AM living like a weed. I AM being like a weed.

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I was reminded that one area where I must be persistent like a weed is in writing and blogging — which gives me the most joy.

Writing and sharing through this site has given me much fulfillment and the get-out-of-bed feeling for almost four years now. Not to mention, it is quite therapeutic and deeply healing.

More importantly, I was prodded to anchor in my system the embodiment of a weed’s reason and way of being.

To embrace the totality of who and what I AM — no matter what others perceive of me.

To keep on living, being, and beaming my Light — like the persistent, humble weed.

I AM like a weed — being persistently persistent. Humble yet, paradoxically, proud of it!

Are you one of those persistent, humble weeds?

😀 ⭐ ❤ ⭐ 😀

Copyright © 2011-2015 Nadine Marie V. Niguidula, M.A. and Aligning With Truth

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