Choosing your response to what happens in life is your greatest freedom. Learn more in this video: "Taste Something Better".
Full Video Transcript
Practice responding rather than reacting!
Although we have deeply engrained habits of reacting, through the power of God within, we can begin to develop different responses. As spiritual beings, we are not our mind and emotions—We have a mind, we have emotions and we can choose what we are going to focus upon—We can choose how we are going to behave—We can choose how we are going to react to what happens to us—We can let something bother us throughout the day, or we can move on and let it go and change our focus.
How do we do that?
First of all, we need to accept that “that’s what I want to do.” That just occurred to me—I have spoken on this topic before. But it occurred to me this week that not everyone wants to choose their response.
“Why should I work hard at choosing my response? Why should I do something that’s difficult to do—to change how I react to people and circumstances?” Some people are addicted to the adrenaline rush of getting upset. They are bored, they are unhappy, they are lonely, and their lives lack meaning and purpose—and so, they choose (unconsciously) to push other people’s buttons, hit their triggers, because they get an adrenalin rush out of it.
Not everyone wants to choose his response—but like me, I am sure, you have better things to do with your life—that you want to choose your response because you get tired of being tired—you get tired of being anxious—you get tired of being angry—you don’t want to be a victim of other people’s crap!
You want to choose your response! You want to move through your day centered in peace, centered in joy—centered in meaning and purpose—you don’t want to be a victim of life! You want to live your life in serenity and joy! You are tired of this up and down stuff—it gets tiring—it becomes anguishing monotony. You begin to reach the point where you realize, “I don’t want drama. I don’t want to be a drama queen. I don’t want to be a drama king. It doesn’t go anywhere”—after a while it gets tiring and boring. Believe me!
I am sure; there is someone here today who loves being a drama king, or drama queen— somebody—we know somebody who does. And they don’t know, unconsciously they are having a good time—they think they are, until they begin to taste something better—when you taste something better, the other stuff drops away.
Ladies and gentlemen, as I am sure you have, we have tasted something better. I’ve tasted the inner bliss—I’ve tasted the inner joy—I’ve tasted the inner peace—I’ve tasted the inner calmness—I’ve tasted the divine order and harmony—I’ve tasted the joy and the love—and when you taste that, you don’t want the drama anymore. You don’t need the drama anymore—you don’t need the adrenaline rush anymore—you don’t need the excitement from external things anymore—it doesn’t mean that you don’t enjoy that sometimes but you don’t need it.
And so you become committed to choosing your response— to choosing from your divinity rather than from the surface and circumference of life. And you know what, sometimes we forget and sometimes we fail and that’s natural…We just have to keep on keeping on, learning and growing and making a choice…
Justin Epstein is the author of SUPER YOU: The 7 Steps to Profound Peace and Personal Power, and Senior Minister of The Unity Center of NYC. Learn more and get a free chapter of his book at www.JustinEpstein.com.
Join Justin on Sundays at the Unity Center, 213 West 58th Street, New York City, at 9:30 or 11am. UnityCenterNYC.com
