dailydatewithgod

Sometimes we are not aware of how much things matter to us until we no longer have them.  Sometimes we do not know what we think or feel about something until we are agitated.  Unfortunately, when we experience agitation our first maneuver is to try and get rid of it.  We do not like feeling uncomfortable.  We do not like to have to think about something which is for all intents and purposed yelling at us to pay attention. It is easy to understand that we summarily choose to get rid of the agitation.  We assume it is the thing or person needing to go away in order for us to get comfortable and return to an experience of calm.  While it makes sense from a survival perspective, most of what we experience as agitations are rarely something which would impede our survival.  Our minds interpret the discomfort as a threat to our survival but the fact that we are agitated actually says more about our state of mind that what is actually happening.  And if we are really honest with ourselves if we always just get rid of agitations, there may not be many things left in our life. You know what I am talking about if you have ever had one of those days when everything seems to get under your skin.  Besides, there is a big difference between being agitated versus being in danger. Our reaction may be similarly automatic but here is where the power of the pause comes in to play.  If we can take a breath and notice the state of agitation we are in.  In the next breath, we can notice what seems to be causing the agitation. On the third breath, we can notice the degree of agitation.  All of these practices of noticing when we pause bring us closer to not just reacting.  The pause takes us into the realm of learning.  Maybe there is something inside of me trying to get my attention and it is doing so by causing me to feel agitated. If I rush into reaction and get rid of the agitation I may lose what it is here to teach me about my experience, about my thinking, about my heart, about myself.  Life can be our greatest gift if we pause when agitated and allow some breathing room between stimulus and response.  We can move from being someone who reacts to someone who responds to life, all of life.