Our inner power comes from the pause, from the quiet inside, from the careful selection of our response, based in part on an image of the outcome we desire and based in part on a notion of where the leverage exists in a given situation. Where can we most effectively focus our effort? Where will effort most likely accomplish the desired result?

That dignity that Frederick Remington speaks of is the dignity of someone who has learned to stand in the gap between stimulus and response and carefully choose their response. It comes from a comfort with silence, both silence within, and silence without. It comes from a comfort with slowness. I’ve noticed it too among people, usually older people, who have spent a lot of time working close to the land.  

Stephen Covey, in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People writes about accidentally stumbling across a paragraph in an obscure book – afterwards he couldn’t recall the title – but he described it as changing his life. The paragraph said your power comes from the gap or space between stimulus and response.

After reading that, the principle gained increasing importance in his life. He gained the power of detached perspective. Taking time to consider options in the context of the overall objective and where the points of leverage were in a given situation gave his life a new power. Realizing we have freedoms that we didn’t realize we had gives us power.

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 When confronted with major new stimuli, for instance problems that appear urgent, do you take the time to pause, to reflect? If not, would doing so have a significant positive impact on your life?

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These notes are largely derived from my own journal notes. They, in turn, become the basis of the new books I’m working on, Nurturing The Song Within and Sing Us The Song Only You Can Sing. For instance, the last post of this e-journal about the wisdom that comes from age, and living with Indians, evolved into the following two pages in Nurturing. (Click here or on image to download PDF).