Pause

I want to be like the bug in the picture.  I want to pause for a minute and enjoy the flower...

Pause

Pause before you speak and ask yourself, "what is truer than this"?
Pause before you act and ask yourself, "is this a response to this moment, or a reaction to the past"?
Pause before you eat and ask yourself, "will this make me feel more alive or less alive"?
Pause before you commit and ask yourself, "when things get tough, do I know how to stay"?
Pause before you leave and ask yourself, "am I running away because this is uncomfortable, yet calling me to grow, or am I going because it is simply time to go"?
Pause before you pause and ask yourself, "do I pause too much and is it holding me back from taking risks"?
Pause and search your field of consciousness for old patterns that no longer serve
Pause and savor the moment before a moment
Pause on the bridge between this and that
Pause where life can change
Pause where infinite possibilities lie

-- Coby Kazlowski

My daughter, Kate, had the above reflection posted above her kitchen sink for some years. In these past few weeks, Coby's invitation to pause for a moment beckons.

I want to pause in this moment between this and that. To pull to the side of the road while still on the bridge and climb out of the car. I want to look back at the roads I've traveled to get here, and be thankful for the gifts they've given me. (even the hard gifts. I'm trying to be thankful for those, too.)
I want to look forward to the paths of possibility and enjoy the view of the many options of roads to take in the miles I will soon travel.

I want to explore those paths a bit in my mind's eye. To see where this one crosses that, where that one looks good at the start, but could turn scary once it goes around the bend, and conversely, where this one starts out looking a little narrow and rocky, but is the only road that leads to the flower-filled meadow up ahead on the left.

I am trying to pause, and to savor this moment before a moment.
Infinite possibilities lie ahead.
How wonderful, how scary, is that????