The Space Between

My brother commented on my last entry, and I thought I would share what he said because I loved it.

The famous Austrian psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl said: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

I shared this quote with the Priest Quorum today. No matter how small that space is, we can choose how we react to it. We can choose to be bitter, to complain, to overreact, to get revenge, to escape, to fight, to forgive, to ignore, to be kind, to improve the situation, to fix the problem, to pass the blame... anything! Its our choice! And we can choose what that choice is. We should be in control. Once we give in to the stimulus, we allow it to control us.

Go back and read the Frankl quote above. Now, imagine this coming from someone who survived several holocaust concentration camps... including Aushwitz! He saw and experienced horrible things, however he found that you can endure anything if you have the right mindset. In their case, the right frame of mind could be the difference between survival and death.He said, "If a prisoner felt that he could no longer endure the realities of camp life, he found a way out in his mental life– an invaluable opportunity to dwell in the spiritual domain, the one that the SS were unable to destroy. Spiritual life strengthened the prisoner, helped him adapt, and thereby improved his chances of survival." 

Now that is using your ability to choose!! Remember the space that exists between stimulus and response... that is where greatness lies!