CTL-VIII-0018
“I've learned to pause before reacting and it's changed my relationships.”
The pause is where self-direction lives. That fraction of a second between stimulus and response is the entire practice. You've learned to live in it, that is real growth.
Your Practice
Identify which relationship has benefited most from this shift. Write one specific example of a situation that went better because you paused. Return to that example the next time the urge to react fast comes up.
The Architects
“The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step.”
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64 (James Legge translation, 1891)