The Power of Space and Time

This past week I experienced a fantastic reminder of the power of a pause.  The recycling container that I keep under my sink was full and I had pulled it out and left it at the top of my apartment stairs as a reminder to empty it at some point in the day.  The container remained in place while I passed it by, sometimes stopping to add more items and other times looking at it and thinking "Next time I go outside I'll take it with me".  Gravity soon stepped in to nudge me along.  

I placed one last item in the bin and managed to displace a couple of other empty containers, sending them crashing down the short flight of steps to my landing.  Various curse words were spoken as I went to collect the errant items.  I gingerly replaced all the empty containers, only to send more plastics on an escape mission down the full flight of steps to my downstairs apartment door.  This is where things got interesting.

For the briefest of moments, I pictured myself picking up the entire container of empty recycling items and hurling it down the steps, because obviously it seemed that was where they all wanted to end up.  As I imagined how empowering and exhilarating that would have felt I fortunately eyed a few glass bottles sitting in the bin and imagined how destructive this whole fantasy would be.  I took a breath, paused, and once again picked up the rogue items and walked them outside to the collection bin, allowing myself a bit more intensity in the emptying of my indoor container.

While this story made me giggle afterward, it also reminded me of just how quickly things can escalate and how important it is in the moment to become a witness before jumping in to react to situations as they unfold.  Allowing ourselves that powerful pause to take inventory of what is happening instead of how we feel about what is happening can change how we show up for ourselves and for others.

This is absolutely a practice, not a perfect, and is something that I often struggle with.  Emotions are quick and can be upon us before we realize what is happening.  It takes time to practice the skill of slowing down time with one breath and allowing ourselves the grace of a moment to adjust and recalibrate if necessary.  Like any other exercise or new habit, strength comes with repetitions.  Each time you can incorporate a pause before a reaction, and take a moment to acknowledge what you have accomplished.  It is no small feat to slow down and rethink your choices, especially when acting from a place of emotion is often a go-to.  Does this mean that I will never fantasize about hurling my overflowing recycling down the steps ever again?  Nope.  What it does mean is that the next time I am faced with making a snap decision that I may regret, or a less satisfying-in-the-moment choice I will hopefully choose the one that doesn't leave me picking up shards of glass and plastic for hours afterward.


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