Fill in the Space

I adore this quote by Viktor Frankl: “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.” I learned of Frankl’s words of wisdom through a master of mindfulness, Elisha Goldstein, who explains that within those few seconds after something happens, we have option to make up a whole new story, one that won’t shrink as many brain cells as the message I usually relay. Sometimes I’m too tired to write a new script, so I simply extend that time between my reaction and the response and try not to think about anything with my primitive brain, which is prepped to say, “disaster … tragedy … calamity.”