“Think about the eye of a hurricane, or the calm still center in the middle of a cyclone. No matter how intense the storm or what’s swept up in its gale-force winds, that calm, blue center is always there. This is the metaphor I like to use when talking about the space between stimulus and response. We all have this quiet center within us. Mindfulness reconnects us to this center space, where we fully experience the present moment and have access to the transcendent wisdom that’s often associated with conscious flow. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, neurologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl famously described it this way: ‘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.’” -George Mumford
In the midst of a difficult interaction, are you able to locate yourself in the calm center? Do you inhabit the space that allows you to choose your most empowered response? Or are you often swept away, caught in reactivity? Did you know this space exists?
In the next post, I’ll talk about ways to train your ability to live a less reactive life and more responsive life.