A response is different than a reaction. A reaction is automatic—out of default—and a response is conscious. On the mat and off, it happens like this: some default thought arises, and if you immediately react to that thought, then you resist or quit, and there is not a single gap of time and space to get any perspective. You’re trapped in pure reaction. Or, you can wait and see, and get curious about what else might arise. That allows space for conscious response rather than automatic reaction. Patience is a powerful thing to develop, and the approach of waiting teaches seeing the “gaps” as points of power. There is a power of release that’s given by letting things just be.
