One of the biggest lessons that I've gained from years of meditating has been this shift in reacting to my environment to instead responding to it.
And I think this is such an important thing to reflect on,
Especially right now with just how fast life is going,
And it's going faster and faster.
And if we're not practicing being present and slowing down,
We can get caught up and swept up in it and can feel really overwhelming at times.
And one of the images that I like to share that I think really encapsulates this concept is imagining that you are at a bank of a river and you're watching and seeing that there's all different debris that is floating down and you see branches and leaves.
And if you're in reactive mode,
It's almost like if any one of those things catches your attention,
You're jumping in the river.
You're now part of that stream.
Versus if you're responding,
You can simply just notice.
You can notice as things are floating down and choose to either go in or not.
And the same thing applies in our lives when we're meditating and when we're being mindful.
So when we sit and practice meditation,
We notice that thoughts come up in the mind,
And that's not a bad thing.
However,
It is up to us to choose how we respond to it.
So if we are in reactive mode,
It's like a thought comes in and we're gone.
We're in a story or fantasy or daydream,
Whatever that is.
And until we notice that,
We're kind of caught in that river.
Now,
Again,
That's okay.
That's how that happens.
That's how the mind works.
But if we are practicing responding,
Then when we notice a thought and we notice that we got caught in it,
As soon as we do,
We can choose to respond in a way where we could be really gentle with ourselves and come back to our breath or whatever our point of focus is.
And the same thing applies in our lives.
So if someone cuts you off,
If you get an unexpected bill,
Any kind of challenge that comes up that is really out of our control,
I'll throw another one in,
Family stuff.
And it is not in our control what anyone else does,
But only in how we choose to respond to it.
So in the example of someone cutting you off as you're driving,
The reactive thing to do is to immediately go into either yelling or road rage or letting that dictate the rest of your day of how it's now ruined.
Or just like you would be sitting at the bank of a river watching something go by,
You could also do the same thing with that driver.
Become curious,
Start to notice what it's like to be in that situation as potentially frustrating as it is.
And what you'll begin to notice is that there are emotions,
There's thoughts that come up.
And then if you're allowing yourself to be with them,
They pass.
And then you're not getting caught in the drama of that situation,
Which often snowballs into other things,
Right?
So you are essentially getting your power back when you choose to respond to life and life is happening in every single moment.
So my invitation to you is,
Can you choose to respond in the way that you want to?
And perhaps reflecting,
How do I want to respond to life today?
How do I want to respond to life?
Do I want to show up more openly or do I want to be more curious?
Do I want to show up with love or compassion or whatever that may be?
So as we close out this talk today,
I'd love to invite you to reflect on that and just notice what comes up.
Then in every moment of your life or let better yet in your day today,
Because from day to day,
It's different.
That can be your anchor point.
Let that be your intention that no matter what happens,
You choose to respond with that kind of energy,
That kind of quality.
So I'm really excited for you.
And I'd love to hear in the comments how this experiment goes.
If you have any questions or challenges with it,
Happy to respond.
But this difference can really make,
Although it's slight,
It can make a really powerful shift in your day and your life.
Thank you so much for listening.
Have a beautiful day and I'll see you soon.
