The Space Between

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. -Viktor E. Frankl
 
Dear Friends,
 
I was trying to cross the stream the other day to get to a rock I wanted to sit on for a bit.  I was able to get to said rock without too much trouble, but it wasn’t without thought…I had to pause, get my bearings and my footing, and continue on to the rock so I did not slip into the water.  As I sat there I thought about a situation that recently happened in my life.
 
A few days ago I was about to make a bad decision.  I’m sure you can relate, I almost sent a text I would have later regretted.  While the text would have been understandable and perhaps even justified, it simultaneously would not have had benefit in my life and in the situation, but instead would have served to build walls around an already complicated set of circumstances.
 
Right as I was about to send the text, my dear friend called me…and that call pulled me out of the moment and gave me the space I needed to reevaluate what I was doing.  That call interrupted me enough and allowed me to remind myself of what was of most benefit in this particular time.
 
I was talking to another friend about what happened and how I was feeling about it the following day, and she led me to the beautiful quote above.  “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.”
 
My friends, we aren’t always going to be rescued by the well-timed call from a friend prior to our response, and there will certainly be times when we make decisions that build walls instead of bridges…but perhaps this week, just as I had to pause to cross that water to get to the rock, we can pause a little more in our own lives….we can find a little more space between stimulus and response, and we can stand in our power to choose our own response and cultivate our growth and our freedom.
 
I hope you have an amazing week my friends.
 
Love
Krista