Mindfulness

Some days it feels like you’re standing under the waterfall - copping the full force of whatever’s crashing down on you. Anxiety. Stress. Anger. Shame. Dread. The whole lot. And when you’re in it, you don’t even realise it. You become it - the thoughts, the feelings. You’re soaked, overwhelmed, and reacting to everything that hits you.

But here’s the part most of us forget. You can step back.

Not out of life. Not out of responsibility. Just half a metre back from the waterfall - far enough to actually see what’s going on instead of being smashed by it. That tiny shift is awareness - what the ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) crowd call the “observing self.”

It’s the moment you move from “Why am I like this?” and “I don’t like this” - the internal tug of war that fuels the chaos - to “Ah… I can see what’s happening here."

Step back, and suddenly the patterns show themselves. The stories you’ve been running. The triggers that keep grabbing you by the throat. And once you can see it, you’ve got a choice again. In that half-metre pocket is the ability to respond instead of reacting like a kitten seeing its own shadow for the first time.

That’s the work. Not perfection. Not superhuman calm.

Just learning to step back from the waterfall long enough to get your bearings - and choose your next move with a bit more intention.

To not torch your marriage for the next 24 hours. To not fire off that ill-thought email to your boss. To not demolish a packet of Tim Tams on day two of your new diet.

If you’re getting smashed right now, don’t judge yourself.Take the step.Half a metre is enough.