Becoming an observer can deepen one's awareness

I have taken a break from reacting in an intense fashion to external stimuli which often invokes a reaction from within me. Making an effort rather to remain calm and observe the situation, without reacting, has helped to provide me with deeper insight that I may have otherwise overlooked. I'm seeing that I may overreact at times, not truly knowing what's going on. It's much like traveling on a similar path, when taking the same route around the neighborhood, during a nightly stroll, not paying heed the details, missing certain aspects of nature which surround you and therefore becoming locked in a similar thought pattern. Yet when you take a new path on a whim, you suddenly become acutely aware of all of the objects surrounding you. You marvel at the beauty and novelty of it all and uncover bright ideas that arise as you're on this new path. When you're surrounded by the same situation day in and out, it's quite easy for the same thought pattern to recirculate through your mind. You might not recognize the error of your ways when you react in similar fashion to those common issues as you may be so caught up in your typical worries and anxiety to reflect on what's going on around you with a clear perspective.

These past few days, I dare say I have been less agitated and less reactive than usual. I'm letting my intuition guide me and have deepened my awareness as to how some minor annoyances have escalated in my mind because I have been so stuck in a repetitive mindset, unable to realize that some things aren't as bad as they seem. The only way I could have arrived at such an epiphany was to take a step back and become the observer. I have been listening to what's going on and have realized my interpretation of certain situations may have been rather 'off' in the past. It has taken some quiet time, evening walks around the neighborhood (hence the above-mentioned analogy), and focused meditation to contribute to my ability to look at every day stresses with a new set of eyes, and a less reactive and short-fused persona.