‘Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response’   Victor Frankl

 

The beauty of the ‘space’ between. The space between something happening to us and our response to it.

 

Have a read of the quote again.

 

What does this mean to you?

 

What questions does it raise?  

 

This is something that I’ve been personally working on for many years, as I eventually came to the realisation that as much as I wanted to create a peaceful life, I realised that stressors will still exist and will continue to exist outside of me. I couldn’t avoid them.

 

My big realisation was that the key to a situation resulting in either a peaceful or stressful outcome was how I dealt or responded to it.

 

That big one – personal responsibility.

 

You see, whether we want to admit it or not 🙂 We all have a choice as to how we respond to life. We all get served experiences that we don’t want, things don’t go our way and then there’s the inevitable…… devastation and loss.

 

The thing is, there are so many things in our lives that can send our stress levels rocketing.

 

When that irritant, annoying thing happens – be that a situation or something someone said that you don’t like – you have a choice. 

 

Do you react – scream, shout, get angry, go off in a huff, shut down and ignore the issue

 

OR do you create space. Stop, take deep breaths, allow the building of anger/energy, your patterned unconscious response to dissipate and then respond from a calmer place? You literally feel time slow down, a sense of clarity comes over you and you can see the situation from all angles, not just from your perspective.

 

When we respond reactively it can create a host of additional issues, affecting our relationships yes, but can also be very toxic to our bodies.  Sending our heart rate beating at a super fast rate. Puts us in the fight or flight response that exhausts us mentally and physically with adrenaline and cortisol pumping through our system which in turn causes a whole heap of tension and stress on our entire system. 

 

And you know what the BRILLIANT news is..? We have the power, the power to change the outcome.  

 

I’ve found that the more I practice, the easier it gets.  So my advice is to start practicing now. 

 

When something irritates you. Stop and breathe.  Don’t react. Notice your bodily sensations. Create some space in your body and mind to feel into what’s going on.  And then, when the time is right and you feel calm, respond from that more mindful place.

 

In my own life, I’ve reacted and I know what the outcome has been. I’ve also shut down, become the victim. And that’s not served me well either.

 

I think that one of the shared human needs and desires that we all have is for freedom.

 

Freedom comes when we respond with heart from a truly present place. This is where we progress and grow.  And this is inner peace.

 

I wish you so much inner peace in your life and do comment below if you’d like to share your experiences x