Can You Give Me A Minute To Breathe?

Unique Perspectives: Can You Give Me A Minute To Breathe?

By Kim Stevens

Why do we do the things we do at the pace we do them? I don’t know about you but sometimes I find the speed of life to be exhausting. Inbox, full. Texts, unread. Comments, unanswered. To-do list, unchecked. Likes, shares, alerts, notifications … aah! Give me a second to breathe!

The world moves so, so fast these days and I find it has the potential to create a false sense of urgency. The whirlwind of social media posts, information that’s instantly available, it can anesthetize my innate instinct to stop and think before I act.

But where does this misplaced urgency leave me, the person who is trying to get to enlightenment and lead an awakened, purposeful life? I’m looking for more … more meaning, more purpose, more joy. I don’t want to be bombarded or feel like I’m at the constant pressure of all this external stuff.

I remember a few years back when my phone was filling up with texts and a friend said to me, “You know, Kim, you don’t have to respond to them all.” 

Really?! That revelation was earth-shattering.

I love the idea of consciousness, of being conscious about what I’m doing and not just responding quickly because the pressures of modern society are telling me I should with every ding of a new email or chime of a new text. Part of my urge to respond, I know, is ingrained in my upbringing, a product of being the eldest child in my family and the one who people always looked to for answers. And whenever they did, I felt a responsibility to respond. From an early age, I was conditioned to carry this sense of responsibility everywhere I went, knowing what to do in any kind of problem. With consciousness, all that can change. Instead of rushing to respond, I get to take a minute to get connected, which for me means going through the 3 R’s:

Retreat

Regroup

Respond

(Also known as Pause, Pray, Proceed.)

In this process, it’s always me going to God to figure out what’s up or know how to best align myself with the highest good in any circumstance. How do I respond? Do I even need to respond? Consciousness reminds me that sometimes I’m just not going to get back to people as quickly as the world thinks I should … and consciousness also reminds me that that’s perfectly OK.