Breathe Magazine Issue 046 Back Issue

Life often delivers the unexpected. Plans are derailed, problems crop up, people let you down. It’s tempting at such times to regain order by making swift decisions – take control and normal service will be resumed. Life will stabilise and all will be well. Only when it doesn’t, and it isn’t. There might be many reasons for this. Plans might be intrinsically flawed, people troubled. Sometimes, however, the
uneasiness that sits alongside uncertainty drives the outcome, promptinga need to do something – anything.

But what if there was another way? What if life was left to unfold at its own pace? This wouldn’t be easy. And in many situations it wouldn’t be appropriate – no one in a life-or-death situation would appreciate the emergency services standing back and waiting to see what happens next. There are occasions, however, when a course of inaction, or at least a moment’s pause, might provide time to explore alternative routes. The trouble is it involves sitting with that uneasiness, that uncertainty, that not being sure what to do. And that’s something few find appealing. It’s not easy to take a backseat when it feels like a friendship is struggling or a project is in crisis. Yet sometimes it’s just what’s needed to take the stress out of the situation.

Importantly, it isn’t necessary to do this alone, which is where family, friends and colleagues come in – the luxury of having time to think means their advice and help can be sought. They might not always have the answers either, but talking through the problem could bring fresh perspectives, even if it’s only that not all solutions are swift.