S( )R

situation (spaaaaaaaaaaace) reaction

heaven is a place on earth/ with you

Hi there,

The internet is a reaction machine.

Five things to share:

1. Before I got off social media, before I turned my smartphone into a dumb phone, before I quit the news and declared the internet a pointless, unnecessary and banal waste of my time— and I am proved right over and over and over again— it was my favourite escape. There were also the men, food, tequila and other drugs (response) but all paled in comparison to the escape the World Wide Web provided. The internet required little effort and was available anywhere and everywhere at all times. Funny enough, it even provided escape from my other escapes. Is this interaction with this guy uncomfortable? Pick up the phone, appear occupied and unbothered. I don't want to think about the sheer amount of food I'm bingeing on to fill the un-fillable void? A YouTube video will provide just the distraction-from-distraction I need. Reaction after reaction after reaction. Any discomfort I felt (stimuli), emotional or otherwise, was immediately soothed with a frenzy scroll through the mass content available online (response). Until I stumbled upon a formula that would change the course of my life, with space in-between. S ( ) R.

2. What I’ve learned, and loved, last week:

   • With breathing, as is with most things in life, less is more. The optimum breathing rate is about 5.5 breaths per minute. That’s 5.5-second inhales and 5.5-second exhales. This is the perfect breath. And for the love of god, breathe through your nose. (From Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art)

   • You can buy happiness for $22.59CAD, and impromptus dancing sessions pair well with cooking. 

   • With consistent training, my body is capable of amazing feat. A kickboxing instructor told us women have all their strength in the lower body: “If you train your legs properly, you can kill a man with a single kick.” Important skill to develop if you live in a big city and take public transportation— daily Survivor episode but I thrive on chaos. To more 💪

3. A quote I want to share with you:

   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 freedom.

   —Viktor Frankl

4. If you wrote the quote as a formula, it might look like this: S( )R.

5. Homework for you: On a piece of paper, write the formula S( )R and write in the bracket all the ways you can fill the space whenever a situation arises and before you respond/react. Pick a specific situation or in general.

   Mine (generally): Ask Is this worth my time, energy, attention? Breathe. (times a million) Mantra: I can ignore this. Body scan: relax face, neck, shoulders, hands and toes. Mindful seeing: Notice what is around me. Journal/ make a list. Save reaction for when I feel positive.

P.s. You can take the girl off social media, but you can’t take subtweeting out the homie:

#3

That’s all for this week!

Thank you for reading, and share with anyone you think may benefit.

If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.

Until next time,

Mehret