NOTICE. PAUSE. CHOOSE.
by Brittany Henderson
I had a moment recently that really sat me down.
Not because anything major happened on the outside, but because of what I saw happening inside of me.
You ever catch yourself getting irritated with somebody and it feels justified, like yeah, they’re doing too much, they’re off, they’re the problem? And then something in you goes quiet for a second and says… hold on.
That’s what happened to me.
I realized I wasn’t just noticing what was happening. I was absorbing it. Taking it in. Making it mine. Trying to figure it out, label it, fix it, or judge it.
And the truth is, that’s been my pattern.
I feel deeply. I read energy fast. And before I even realize it, I’ve already internalized something that never belonged to me in the first place.
That’s where the work came in.
I’ve been sitting with The Way of the Heart, and one of the biggest things I’m learning is that nothing outside of me has the power to disturb what I’m responsible for unless I allow it. And what am I responsible for? Myself. My perception. My response.
Not other people.
So in that moment, instead of staying in irritation, I had to stop and ask myself, what am I doing with what I’m seeing?
Then I went back to the practice…
Notice. Pause. Choose.
Notice what’s coming up without judging it.
Pause long enough to not immediately react or attach meaning.
Choose how I want to respond in a way that keeps me in peace.
Simple. Not easy, but simple.
Because let me be real, I don’t always get it right.
Sometimes I notice and still react.
Sometimes I pause and still choose something that doesn’t feel good later.
Sometimes I don’t pause at all.
But the difference now is that I’m catching it.
And that matters.
I’m also learning to see people differently.
Instead of quickly labeling someone as difficult or wrong or too much, I’m practicing looking with new eyes. Not blind eyes, not naive, but softer eyes. Curious eyes.
What if this is just how they are right now?
What if this is how they’ve learned to move through the world?
What if I don’t need to turn this into something negative in order to respond appropriately?
Because I can still have boundaries.
I can still choose how close I get.
I can still decide what I participate in.
But I don’t have to make someone a problem in order to do that.
That’s the part that’s changing for me.
I don’t want to carry people’s energy like it’s mine to figure out anymore.
I don’t want to turn every uncomfortable moment into something I have to solve.
I just want to be aware.
To notice when I’m starting to absorb.
To pause before I go too far down that road.
To choose something that actually aligns with peace.
And some days, I’m better at it than others.
Some days I’m grounded and clear.
Other days I’m all over the place, in my feelings, reacting, overwhelmed.
But even in those moments, I’m learning to catch myself and say, hey… you’re off right now. Come back.
That’s the practice.
Not perfection.
Just awareness, over and over again.
Notice. Pause. Choose.
And over time, that becomes a new way of being.
-Britt