Deception
Taking a Pause
If you want something different to happen, try taking a pause.
Posted May 23, 2019
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It was a book lying on the counter at a bookstore that gave me a name for what I’ve been up to lately. The book's title, Do Pause: You Are Not a To Do List, initially caught my attention, and then I read the quote on the page I opened to: "Whatever you are doing, if you want something else to happen, you need to pause."
I had been searching for an explanation for what I had been experiencing the shedding old identities, being more introverted, and feeling somewhat disengaged from my life. I was worried that my withdrawal was from procrastinating, laziness, disappointment, or just getting older.
I know something about pausing by taking a deep, slow breath, a bath, a walk, meditating, or going on retreat. But in the midst of my own process, I hadn’t seen that what I was experiencing was also a pause—taking a break to question, to reset, and to reconnect with myself. To quiet the constant doing in order to see what newly draws my interest and curiosity.
I’m taking a pause to explore how my work can be more inclusive and address pressing social issues. I hope you’ll consider taking a pause (a breath, a place to sit and observe, a walk, a letting go) to recalibrate what you are up to in the moment or in the larger picture of your life. I think the world is in need of our questioning what we are doing and how we are treating one another. It can no longer be business as usual. Taking pauses-- in whatever ways we can--will help us find the best ways forward.
"A pause is an opening, it acts as a portal to other options and choices." —Robert Poynton