The Worthy Opponent

By Jane Murray

Michigan winters are rough. Even if you love snow, winter sports and all that goes with it most folks will agree that winter is a challenge. There is the extra money paid out for heat, hazardous road conditions and day after day of gray dreary skies. Winter may get us down but it is a worthy opponent. Each winter and each challenge that we encounter makes us grow. It may not be what we wanted but the struggle is an opportunity to become more than what we were when we started. That is the gift of the worthy opponent.

Our earthly existence is filled with opposites. Winter and summer are two of them. Ancient mythology addresses how this came to be. The Bible speaks of the Garden of Eden and eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Greek mythology tells the story of Pandora opening the forbidden box. Both stories speak of the origin of good and evil, the creation of opposing forces in the world. When duality emerged, the human condition changed. Paradise was lost. Is it any wonder that some people think ignorance is bliss? Ignorance may provide temporary comfort but it never satisfies. Humanity thirsts for the inner knowing that grows into wisdom. That is the reason Pandora couldn’t resist the box and Eve took a bite of the apple.

The quest for wisdom is a constant process of redefinition. It is the process of chipping away at the ego and discovering our inner core. It is there that wisdom can be found. The process of redefinition is not easy. It involves struggle. Struggle is the encounter of opposites, their clashing and the resolution of conflict. Encountering resistance strengthens character. We want life to be filled with pleasure, but consider what would happen if that was all there was. We would be doomed to a life of stagnation. We need a worthy opponent that forces us to stretch beyond our self-imposed limits.

The plains Indians speak of the Heyokah or the Sacred Clown. Other Native American groups have the tradition of the Trickster. Both are the Contrary. The Contrary is the upside down and backwards One. Wylie Coyote is a good example. Wylie Coyote thinks he is very clever but just when it looks like he is finally going to win, everything falls apart. Wylie Coyote is bested by the Roadrunner again. Both live to tell the story and we know they will resume the match later. This type of struggle is classic and part of much of our literature.

The Trickster is alive and well in all of us. Just when we need to learn a new point of view, the Trickster appears. Amazing as it seems, we find just the right person or set of circumstances to test our limits. What occurs is usually not what we had in mind but we muddle through and discover something better. Sometimes the experience takes years to resolve. It can be like peeling the layers off of an onion but each succeeding layer deepens the wisdom gained.

Each of us has our own agenda. We want things to go our way. That is part of being human but it is not what makes us grow. It is our daily encounters with a worthy opponent that change us. It is the difficult boss, the baby with colic and the long cold winter that challenge us to become all that we can be. We can let the struggle get us down or we can become more than we were when we started. The choice is ours. We can be grateful for the struggle and bless the worthy opponent. Spring will come. It always does. All we need to do is trust our intuition, strengthen our resolve and have the faith to see it through.

Jane Murray, whose Ojibwe name is Shawanah, is a professional storyteller and workshop facilitator. She is an adjudicated storyteller with the Michigan Touring Arts program. She tells the stories of the Woodland Indians of Michigan. She can be contacted about workshops and programs at 269-651-8998 or jemjane@hotmail.com.