Resistance and Resilience: 1

Enos Mills, the “Father of the Rockies,” traveled throughout the Rocky Mountains for years, communing with animals rather than killing them for food or safety.

May 20, 2025

A couple of days ago, I introduced a new theme for this blog: https://spiritreflectionsorg.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4817&action=edit. I extended an invitation to all artists to join this gathering place, envisioning mutual sharing of works of resistance and resilience, especially in regard to resistance against unjust and corrupt governments and resilience in regard to keeping our souls grounded in these chaotic times. A few things motivated me. 

Boulders holding balance.

First, my husband and I recently returned from a trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, USA. The quotation above by Enos Mills with his emphasis on thinking, hoping, planning, resting, and resolution resonated with me. During our time there, I realized that our decision to come to this park was an act of resistance itself because we need to claim these places of “being.” With our presence, we stood up against our current administration’s desire to sell off our precious and protected public lands, lands that offer beauty, contemplation, stillness, and joy to all visitors. As we stepped away from and outside the constant barrage of destruction, noise, and chaos and held close to and honored what belongs to the people, we found resilience; we found ourselves. Our time in nature grounded us and nurtured us so that we are able to continue our resistance.

Succulents growing out of a massive boulder.

While there, I also began to notice all the examples of resistance and resilience in nature. Saplings courageously grew in the most unlikely and harsh places. Wildflowers, few in number, sprung upwards from great expanses of dirt. Succulents sprouted from cracks in boulders. Battered by centuries of wind and weather, boulders perched preciously atop cliffs and held their balance. Trees stretched upward from fire-burned acres.

Single snow-buttercup

Secondly, a quotation by poet Toni Morrison touched me, particularly her lines: “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no place for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.” This call is to all artists to create, to share, and to assist in healing and hope no matter how deep the shadows around us are.

Lone tree growing from rock.

Finally, I stumbled upon an invitation to be part of a group focused on “creative resistance” in the arts. We find resilience as we lose ourselves in our creative endeavors, nurtured and energized by the very act of immersion in creation. We find resilience when we share our works and are nurtured and energized by that gifting. Our works themselves become an act of resistance as we say NO to what is not right, not moral, not beautiful, not merciful, not generous, not just, and not a part of the ultimate Creator.

Rocky Mountain National Park in all its resilience.

Resisting together,

Rosemary

Photo credit: Rosemary McMahan