Ever have to stop what you’re doing to remind yourself to breathe? Like actually breathe?  We are nothing if not frenetic, so much so that we’ll sometimes find ourselves holding our breath, furrowing our brow, hunching our shoulders, gritting our teeth, clenching our fists without even noticing.

Much of time, these habits are a defensive response.  We’re protecting ourselves from truly feeling that which we are feeling – frustration, anger, fear, guilt, sadness, disappointment.  It’s only when we release our grip, relax our muscles, and take a breath that we come into the moment.  And when we come into the moment, we are much better-equipped to take the next right action to live a life amazing.

But, coming into the moment and actually relaxing into our feelings can be really scary.  So we try to manage them away or explain our reactions to ourselves to the point where we create a story that makes us feel better.  But that story is just that.  It’s not real.  Once we think we’ve gotten it figured out, we frantically trying to figure out what to do next.  And in that frenetic tailspin we’re increasingly likely to make a rash decision, lash out at someone, or drown out our powerful inner voice (our intuition – the guide most likely to take us in the direction of our dreams.)

So what do we do?

Pause.

A pause, by definition, is momentary.  A momentary cessation of action can help us come into the moment, feel what we’re feeling.  Whether it’s a physical pause where you sit and meditate for a few, or a mental pause, which can be accomplished during a walk or some other activity, when we stop managing for a minute or two, we can begin to believe that our circumstances, our feelings, our present state is always in flux.  We don’t need to do anything – we don’t need to protect ourselves – because this is just life.  And life is ever-changing.  These feelings can and will pass through us. And it’s important to feel them because being in the moment gives us the experience of our lives. The bad, sad, angry, frustrated, feelings will only pass when we stop resisting.