5 compelling reasons why you need the art of pausing
The art of pausing
The art of pausing: Since the day we have born, our days are filled with continual movement: Mental, Physical, planning and worrying, habitual talking, fixing, scratching, adjusting, phoning, snacking, discarding, buying, looking in the mirror. We have never take a rest since the day we have born, even in our sleep, our subconscious mind is continuously working.
In our lives, many things often happen where we don’t have any control over. Then we become helpless, restless, and distraught, trying to manage the situation at any cost. It sometimes makes us tiresome. Small things, small incidents, or small events make us feel low, down, and hopeless. We start fighting with ourselves as well as with our surroundings which only increases chaos in our lives.
What if we, right amid all chaos, consciously take our hands of the control? what if we intentionally stop rushing around and pause for a minute or two, just to experience life and our inner selves. Learning to pause is the first step in the practice of Radical Acceptance. A pause is a suspension of activity, a time of temporary disengagement when we are no longer moving towards any goal. And today, that is so the reason why I am going to flash the light on 5 compelling reasons why the art of pausing is necessary, especially in this chaotic world that never stops.
Below are the 5 compelling reasons why you need the art of pausing :
1. It awakens you to experience little things:
Pausing can happen midst of any activity. You can practice pausing by meditation. it will make you aware of little things around you, like your breath, like the newborn leaves in your garden, struggling ant to take her sugar cube, and so on. It makes you more aware and conscious of your surrounding.
2. It helps you to present wholeheartedly mentally as well as physically:
Pausing simply means discontinue whatever we are doing—thinking, talking, walking, writing, planning, worrying, eating. We may pause in a conversation, letting go of what we’re about to say, to genuinely listen and be with the other person. We may pause when we feel suddenly moved or delighted or saddened, allowing the feelings to play through our hearts. It helps you to completely be attentive and present in the moment and eventually helps your mind to be more clear.
3. It increases your ability to make choices:
Pausing is time-limited. In pausing we resume our activities but with more increased presence. Like, suppose you are on diet but you had a pizza craving and you are about o eat pizza. Before eating, you had that conscious pause where you rewind everything you are doing since the week to get yourself in shape. After that moment of pause, you might end up eating a whole pizza, savoring its taste or you might give up on Pizza and go for a run instead. When we pause, we don’t know what will happen next. But, it surely gives you the choice to make our next move.
4. It helps you to see the wants and fears which are driving you:
All our life, we are driven by our desires, fears, and insecurities. But sometimes, our emotions, may it be positive or negative can drive us crazy. Can make us feel so low that we would be unable to see hope. Pausing, in this case, will help you to be calm and to think over your fears and wants again. It will give you more clarity to think and take control of your life.
5. It saves you from doing things you will regret:
Often the moment when we most need to pause is exactly when it feels most intolerable to do so. Pausing in a fit of anger, or when overwhelmed by sorrow or filled with desire. Maybe the last thing we want to do. Pausing can feel like falling helplessly through space—we have no idea of what will happen. We fear we might be engulfed by the rawness of our rage or grief or desire. Yet without opening to the experience of the moment, Radical Acceptance is not possible.
Final Words
Pausing is something anyone can achieve with little conscious effort. Meditation will play a major role in developing this art. Today, when the whole world is facing a pandemic, people are dying. We are on the verge of breaking both physically and mentally. Pausing will help you experience life at a whole different level. It will change your perception of life.