We find ourselves getting caught up in everything we have going on. We react to our experiences. And stress can leave us defensive and on edge. Like we are not in full control of our thoughts, emotions, or actions. Like we are living a few steps behind the flow of everything. Our worries about the past or fears of the future bring us out of the present. We might feel like we are losing touch sometimes.
It’s like being under a waterfall. You stand there as the water pours down on top of your back and neck. Your head hangs. You feel the weight of the water. The longer you stand there, the heavier it feels. The pressure makes things go tense and numb. It’s a struggle to take a good breath. And you begin to fatigue. Your eyes squint to see in front of you. But you get lost in the downpour. There’s no telling where the water stops and you start.
Living in a reactive state puts us in this position. The waterfall is like our experiences. And our experiences (thoughts, feelings, actions, events) feel very heavy and pressurized. We get caught up in them. So much so that we identify with them. The constant downpour makes it difficult to see or breathe. We get tired.
But what if we step out from underneath the flow? What will happen to us?
When we shift into noticing our experiences rather than reacting to them, we create space from them. Things don’t feel as personal, as we detach our identity from what happens. This is like stepping out from underneath the waterfall and into the space behind it.
From behind the waterfall, you see it for what it is. You can pick your head up and observe how it falls. You don’t feel as stuck by it. You feel the mist. You see the pressure of the flow. You can follow one bead of water from the top until it hits the bottom. You are able to slow it down by noticing it. And you recognize its meaning as it fits into the entire landscape.
Shifting our mindsets into noticing is how we step behind the waterfall. Here is where we create space to notice our experiences, finding the significance and beauty of what’s happening in us, through us, and beyond us.
