Th’ expedition of my violent love
Outrun the pauser, reason.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare wrote, “The expedition of my violent love, outrun the pauser, reason.” I would like to translate that into, “The exercise of my fierce passion outruns ‘the pauser’ reason.” Though Shakespeare did not have modern neurophysiology to outline the role of the forebrain in handling impulsivity, he knew that a basic human issue was human emotion, or feeling, run amok. In Hamlet, he noted re the title character, “He cannot buckle his distempered cause within the belt of rule.”

With the “pauser reason” we can introduce what Deepak Chopra calls “the gap” into our experience. We are at times consumed with passion, but if things work out right we will have learned to “pause” briefly and consider the possible outcome of our behavior and/or words.

Years ago I had as a client a 16 year old male who had been diagnosed with ADHD. And he could have been a “poster boy” for that diagnosis, being unable to control himself in the classroom and at home. He was very intelligent and could articulate quite well regarding his subjective experience, even those times when he was totally out of control. And when he finally relented and followed his MD’s recommendation and took a stimulant medication, it had a remarkable impact on him. He noted to me one day, “Now, I have a choice. I have the same urges to “trash talk” and be “difficult” to my teachers, but now I have the choice of whether or not I want to follow through with my urges.” He had obtained “the pauser reason” (aka “an observing ego”) psychopharmacologically.

Unfortunately, he got tired of this restraint and began to balk about compliance with the stimulant medication. Soon thereafter his family moved and his treatment with me ended. But months later there was a sad ending to this anecdote. Apparently having stopped taking his medication, he was driving his ATV crazily across the countryside one afternoon. Something went awry, he wrecked, and was killed.

I was so sad and am very sad now as I relate the anecdote. He was such a handsome, intelligent, passionate, and insightful young lad. But as one of his teachers noted to me, “He simply could not live inside his own skin.”