The Choice

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.
Viktor E. Frankl

I still remember the rush that I experienced when I found that quote in the introductory pages of, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’. “Yes, that must be the definition of ‘the choice’ that I somehow always tried to write about!” After the initial rush was over though I wondered, “Well, isn’t this always the case? What exactly is the new insight in this statement?”

Actually, I believe that ‘the choice’ describes our spiritual journey in a sentence. Yes, we always had a choice, but not really. Old reaction functions and prior conditioning ran us before our spiritual journey kicked in. Now, with the spiritual path communicating to us, we perceive number sequences as our friend talks. We hear the lyrics of the songs on the radio. We perceive an energy level in our friend that is different from the words that are coming out of his mouth. The Way is bombarding us with information, all the while our feelings speak to us. Along the Way the mind is vowed into silence, moment by moment.

It turns out, we have a choice after all! The choice to step out of our old conditioning. But then, do we really have a choice? Probably not given that a higher Power is taking over. Anyhow, walking the Way is a lot more fun than walking by our lonesome self.