Why pauses are necessary to move ahead

How often have you wished that life had a pause button? A button that could help us hold on to memories and not let the moment pass. A pause that gives us some time to speak to our soul. A pause which could help us declutter the mind. A pause which opens up new avenues when we find ourselves stuck.

Many a time, I suddenly feel like taking a pause, a break. When I want to shut myself out from the rest of the world and ponder over life silently and embrace solitude. In my view, such a pause from the quotidian, from the mundane and sometimes from my own self is a must when I want to rejuvenate my being. It is important to let the brain take a break and retain its power of looking at things with a fresh perspective. Creativity requires silence. That pause can provide the necessary push to the creative thoughts to emerge out of the darkness.

I recently read on a friend’s wall on Facebook, upon completing 40 years of his life, the words, “Maybe the perfect time to pause.”

A woman I know uninstalled the conversation app, WhatsApp, for a few days to ‘socially detox’ her mind. This was her way of moving away from the congestion of the mind. We often feel so overloaded with information and people that being absent from the social space for a while gives us access to our inner world.

My mind wonders what is it that most of us want to take a pause from? And what or who is the benefactor of this decision? In my friend’s view, “We need to pause and think whether we have lived our life the way we wanted to, whether we are living it as we want to and whether we would want to move ahead like this. There is a need to disentangle our thoughts and then tread on the path of living a fulfilling life.”

An author needs a pause from writing to ponder over the next article or explore newer angles to write. While speaking we need to pause at proper places to connect to the audience. While running aimlessly in the race of life we need to pause to redefine our goals of happiness and contentment. In a relationship, it’s important to pause to listen to the partner and rebond.

As rightly said by American composer Truman Fisher, “A pause is as important as the note.” To sing the song of life joyfully we need those pauses between the notes.

Imagine watching a movie without a break. A pause is needed to put things into the right fit.

Doe Zantamata, the author of the book ‘Happiness In Your Life’ says, “Taking time to do nothing often brings everything into perspective.”

Let’s aim to pause in order to move ahead.

TO SING THE SONG OF LIFE JOYFULLY WE NEED THOSE PAUSES BETWEEN THE NOTES. IMAGINE WATCHING A MOVIE WITHOUT A BREAK. A PAUSE IS NEEDED TO PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE