Stimulus and Response
At our house, this quote from Victor Frankel is often repeated:
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Cultivating that space, and the discipline to watch for it, wait for it, and give it room to work its magic is what meditation is. Notice that it isn’t about removing the stimulus, and not even about eliminating the response, it’s about making an intentional choice. When you practice not jumping up every time a thought crosses your mind, you are building the muscle you will need out in the world to give yourself that split second to really choose, and not just to react.
If you want to know more about Victor Frankel, he is a writer best known for Man’s Search For Meaning. He was a trained neurologist and psychiatrist who drew upon that background and his experience as a Holocaust survivor to develop the field of logotherapy, which is based on the idea that the search for meaning is a prime motivator of what we do and why we do it. Go ahead, Google him, he has lots more to share.