How to Endure Sustained Action

In my studies of several wisdom traditions and esoteric disciplines, one thing I’ve found is that true wisdom is a universal language. They’re all saying the same thing, using their own lenses.

One enduring lesson I’ve learned is when the same message comes at the same time from multiple sources, it’s wise to pay attention.

This week brings an example of this to the forefront.

Kabbalah and Astrology

In the Jewish calendar, we are in the period known as the Omer, the counting of 7 weeks between the second night of Passover and the holiday of Shavuot. In the teachings of Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism, each of these weeks pulls focus to one of the seven lower spheres on the Tree of Life.

This week’s focus is the trait of Netzach, which translates to (among other things) endurance, sustainability, and victory.

Netzach week coincides this year with the start of Taurus season. It doesn’t always fall out this way, and as I deepened my study of both, I was struck by the synchronicity that highlighted their commonalities.

Taurus and Netzach

Taurus is slow moving, methodical, and patient. Committed and loyal, sometimes almost to a fault, Taurus seeks to build sustainably and to build something that is sustainable and sustaining. Taurus is Earth. Grounded, rooted, taking ideas and bringing them into physical form.

Netzach is the trait that helps us continually push toward the fulfillment of long-term goals, deal with inevitable obstacles persistently and creatively, and create something for eternity.

Netzach is the trait that helps us navigate the Resistance and show up daily to do the work.

In the journey through the seven spheres, Netzach represents a shift into action.

Moving Forward Without Pushing Through

Although Netzach is about action, it’s not necessarily about massive action. It’s about moving forward even in small ways.

Netzach is not about “pushing through;” it’s about being in flow.

This concept resonated with a friend, who shared that although he can push through, he generally finds that he’s not happy with the results when he does so.

His experience resonates with mine. I also find that the more I push, the harder it seems to be to produce good quality work. It takes more time and energy and I’m more exhausted from the effort.

Being and Doing

Two crucial aspects of Netzach are patience and trust, which help us cultivate a feeling of being, even while we are doing.

One of my insights as I’m studying this material is around the concept of being, even in the *doing*: seeing them not as a binary — being or doing — but as parts of a whole: being in the doing.

Some people seem to have been raised to “trust the process” and “allow things to unfold.” That was not my conditioning.

In fact, I’m more likely to find the doing in the being, which can turn rest and recovery into distress-producing exercises.

I’m still ~~wrapping my head around this one~~ — (wrong metaphor) — trying to get it into my body.

Of course, this aspect of Netzach is also reflected in Taurus. Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planet of pleasure. Taurus delights in sensual pleasures; it seeks to nourish itself and others with good food and a good time, and perhaps end the day with a nice bath. Taurus slows things down, sometimes even stops completely. At the extreme, this can present as laziness; when in balance it is the essence of being.

The Wisdom: Enduring Sustained Action

Taurus and Netzach both teach that to bring ideas into physical form is a long journey. To endure the long hard road requires a healthy mix of persistence and patience, action and allowing, doing and being — and finding the being in the doing.

By finding pleasure in the process we can create in a way that is sustainable and sustaining.