Is Your Shadow Roundup Resistant? – #78

Two weeks ago during a visit to a friend’s farm in Central Iowa, I received* this picture. At the time it wasn’t clear why multiple shots of this scene were necessary. It still isn’t; maybe we can figure it out together.

As the images accumulated on my Canon,  I heard my friend describe the weeds we were viewing in two words:  “Roundup Resistant.”

Weeds are problematic. Weeds inflict pain with their sharp thorns and weeds can cause suffering with poisonous sap. Weeds crowd in where they are not wanted. Weeds pop up unexpectedly and mar aesthetic beauty. Other than dandelions,  we mostly don’t take time to identify their names. We just don’t care for them.   

Characters in our Shadow cause similar problems. When we observe their habitual patterns and embrace them as part of being human, they are less problematic.

Here’s an example: A deep-seated pain sublet a chunk of my Shadow for decades.  At age six, I lost my place as the one and only child in my family. My jealous feelings acted as a barrier separating me from others until I could recognize and honor the loss.  

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “Roundup Resistant”? 

I’m  thinking. Please share what you think.

Thanks for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall

*Thanks to Christine Valters Paintner for suggesting the practice of receiving images rather than taking or making images. See her book: Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice (2013).