Every moment in which we are caught – by desire, by an emotion, by an unexamined impulse, idea or opinion – in a very real way, we are instantly imprisoned by the habitual ways in which we react – whether it is a habit of withdrawal and distancing ourselves, as in depression and sadness, or erupting and getting emotionally “hijacked” by our feelings, as when we fall headlong into anxiety or anger. Such moments are always accompanied by a contraction in both the mind and the body.
From: ARRIVING AT YOUR OWN DOOR 108 Lessons in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
REFLETION:
- Is there some anger or anxiety that is hijacking you now?
- How is this causing your life to contract?
- How can you free yourself from this self imposed prison?
- What steps will you take today?