Pace

The power of your own pace can drastically change the pace of others around you, regardless of whether it is one person in a small room or a stadium of thousands. Even the smallest hand can hold the power to change the pace and lives of others for a second, a day, or a lifetime.

My daughter was at least six months old in the womb. A young, bright-smiling nurse rubbed the cold medical gel over her mommy's stomach and attached a few cords and wires. Beeps and bells began to chime at a steady pace. Suddenly, the consistent sounds stopped. I looked at the young nurse, and her bright smile was fading. Quickly, she began to shift and adjust the wires, prods, and pads, and she repeatedly checked the computer monitor. An occasional chirp or blip was heard, but nothing like before. I quickly grabbed Mommy's hand, sensing the level of fear that was building in this now claustrophobic examination room. The nurse bolted into the hallway and grabbed the first doctor she could find. The doctor entered with a fast yet controlled energy. She checked a few cables, hit a few switches on the monitor, and then detached everything. She turned to us and said, "We’re going to bring her into the other room." The nurse pulled a wheelchair out of the hallway, and the doctor wheeled Mommy down the hall with a uniquely calm urgency. I followed closely, as we rushed into the new room. More wires were hooked up, along with a thick cable with a sonogram camera attached to the end. All of sudden, the steady pace of beeps returned, and the doctor had a questioning look of calm. She ran the camera over Mommy’s stomach. All eyes were on the video monitor above. The black screen flickered. Soon, we were able to see our daughter floating around in the womb. Everything was normal. The doctor investigated a few things, paused, and then lifted the camera and began to try to explain what could have happened. All of a sudden, she was interrupted by silence. No beeps, no chimes. Fear refilled the room. The doctor grabbed the camera and moved it around to get an image of my daughter. Then we saw her. My daughter seemed to be effortlessly floating around, while all of us were trying to make out what was happening. The doctor explained that my daughter was grabbing her umbilical cord, stopping her heartbeat and the pace she was living at inside the womb. The doctor later explained that this type of occurrence happens from time to time and is actually a learning experience for the child. As time passes, the child realizes that, as long as she squeezes the umbilical cord, she cannot breathe. After the child tries a few more times, she will usually learn and stop. Here, my daughter was at negative three months old, in a situation where she could not control the environment she was living in, but she could drastically control her own pace.

Many times in life, it is no different than what happened to my daughter. We have very little or no control over the places we enter, whether it is to function within a small room or the country in which we live. But, as we develop clearer vision, we’re able to make adjustments, thus controlling our own pace. The more I personally recognized this, the stronger I was at determining what I can and cannot control outside of myself.

The environment of our mind is of the utmost priority to control, and beyond this, the rest can just follow along. Our mind can change in a fraction of a second, and so can all that follows, like the heart and kidneys that move and cleanse our blood, the digestive system we eat with, the tongue we speak with, and so on.

I soon gained more appreciation for the principle of non-attachment and a greater respect for my outside environments. I’ve felt this in the hospital rooms I’ve sat in, the streets I’ve walked down, the traffic I have waited in, the train cars I’ve ridden on, and the places I’ve written this book in.

Hence, awareness gave me the opportunity to gain control over my mental space, so I was able to set the right pace. It’s like having the right beat for the right song. If I’m on the wrong beat, the song is not going to sound so hot. This is the way my mind works. It has the power to set the pace so my soul vibrates at the correct level. With the right level, I can be in sync with the energy surrounding me, as if I were playing along flawlessly with the greatest jazz trio or even the biggest band.