Responding To Our Feelings

And there it is!
Granted, this is not always an easy thing to do, but it is totally possible and, in the process, totally freeing.

This is where the POWER OF THE PAUSE comes in.
Press pause, take a breath in and then out and while you breath out, name what you are feeling in that moment and then ask yourself, 'how can I seek to understand what just happened and how do I want to respond?'

Remember, there is real strength in putting in that boundary for yourself and saying, 'I am so angry right now' or 'I need a moment' or 'I will come back to you later' or 'I am choosing to walk away.'

Remember too, that if you have reacted in a way that you are not pleased with, then reflect on it. It is through this reflection of your actions that will help you see what the consequences were and how you can change them.

And finally, don't be too hard on yourself.
Practice makes progress and kindness to ourselves, nurtures and supports us so we can be encouraged to practice some more.

​This quote below sums it up beautifully.

“We are not a fixed, predictable, static identity that anyone can point to and say, “You are always like this. You are always the same.”
Life’s energy is never static. It is as shifting, fluid, changing as the weather.
Sometimes we like how we’re feeling, sometimes we don’t. Then we like it again. Then we don’t.
Happy and sad, comfortable and uncomfortable alternate continually. This is how it is for everyone.
How we relate to this dynamic flow of energy is important.
We can learn to relax with it, recognizing it as our basic ground, as a natural part of life; or the feeling of uncertainty, of nothing to hold on to, can cause us to panic, and instantly a chain reaction begins.
We panic, we get hooked, and then our habits take over and we think and speak and act in a very predictable way. –Taking the Leap, Pema Chödrön