“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Victor E. Frankl
When we interact with anything, it changes. It’s like adding cream to coffee. The cream swirls about as it makes its way through the coffee. It takes some time to settle in. In our own interactions, we can immediately jump in mindlessly with more action (react) or we can pause, observe the swirling, and choose our next move (respond). Is more intervention really the best choice?
By taking notice of the space that exists before we react and choosing “our moment” we can be much more effective. With such awareness, we free ourselves from the urgent pressure to react. We find that the space is outside the immediacy of the situation. Placing our awareness on the space makes us an observer. We can watch calmly as the pressure to react passes through us [whooosh].
The space is not unlike the one that exists between our breathes… in (pause), then out.
To illustrate, here’s a couple screen grabs from The Matrix. BONUS!
Morpheous calmly choosing his moment.
Wait for it… wait for it… breathe… wait for it… breathe…
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There it is.
