Quotes Issue #4 — The Power of the Pause

Sometimes the best path is to just stop for a moment, an hour, a day.

---

“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”

—Mark Twain

---

Truth be told this post began early yesterday. It was about the idea of pausing to allow things to unfold. The motivation was awakening yesterday realizing more than anything I just needed some space.

Space from thinking about the big project I have been working on for the past four months.

Space from the inherent pressures of creating.

Space from being in my head.

If that feels at all familiar to you perhaps today’s double-dose of quotes on the topic of pausing will resonate.

From DepositPhotos.com

There is always a lesson

Before diving into the double-dose of ‘pause’ quotes, let me acknowledge a lesson from my decision not to publish yesterday — the first weekday I missed since starting this little adventure. Here’s what happened.

Despite the feeling I needed to pause, I headed to my writing corner with my iced tea intent upon writing something for you. But none of the topics on my stuff to write about list caught my eye. My mind was unfocused and bouncing from idea to idea like a silver ball played by the pinball wizard himself.

That is when I realized I needed to hit pause and started writing a post about the topic, using the opening quote above. My mind turned to the power of the pause, both on a personal level and when engaging with others. I wrote a few sentences, got distracted, and walked away to clear my head.

Little did I know my pause would end up lasting all day and the post would not be completed. But because I had decided to hit pause, I was OK with it. Though it was rather unusual for me — most days I am obsessed about not breaking my commitment to publish every weekday.

The lesson — when you know you need to hit pause, let it happen for as long as it needs to because there is a reason. Our minds are powerful. They let us know what they need. It is up to us to heed the call.

10 favorite quotes on pausing

“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”

—Albert Einstein

“Through the sacred art of pausing, we develop the capacity to stop hiding, to stop running away from our experience. We begin to trust in our natural intelligence, in our naturally wise heart, in our capacity to open to whatever arises.”

—Tara Brach

“It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately filling up space.”  

—Pema Chodron

“Practice the pause. Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you're about to react harshly and you'll avoid doing and saying things you'll later regret.” 

—Lori Deschene

“Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight. The capacity to create ourselves, based upon this freedom, is inseparable from consciousness or self-awareness.”

―Rollo May

“When things begin accelerating wildly out of control, sometimes patience is the only answer. Press pause.”   

—Douglas Rushkoff

“To have God speak to the heart is a majestic experience, an experience that people may miss if they monopolize the conversation and never pause to hear God's responses.”

—Charles Stanley

“It's not so much knowing when to speak...but when to pause.”     

—Jack Benny

“Pause and remember - Every single event in your life, especially the difficult lessons, have made you smarter, stronger, and wiser than you were yesterday. Be thankful!”

—Jennifer Young

“Sometimes we just need to put down our phones, close our eyes and take a few deep breaths. Ideas are often in flight patterns around our brains, just waiting for clearance to land.”
―Sam Harrison

What’s your favorite pause-related quote? Please share it with me.

Today’s Action Advice

Take a moment, or many moments, to pause today. Allow your mind to breathe, to process, to discover, to reveal with no purpose, no intention, no direction. Just let it do what it wants (and needs) to do. Who knows where it might lead you tomorrow.