I was inspired to write this post while standing in line at a warehouse supermarket, then in a gas line, finally dealing with the beginning of the Holiday traffic. Instead of getting frustrated I just grabbed a hold of myself and started to meditate. One really has to separate one's self from the chaos which may surround him.
Remember, you do not need a yoga mat to meditate. I just took deep breaths while dealing with the chaos which surrounded me and allowed my body to relax instead of being tense and stressed. While doing this, I visualized the 7 to 10 foot area around me and immediately came to the realization that the space I was in was not mine, but shared with others. No one owns anything in this life, including air space. Everyone has a right to this space. Why humans do not understand this is beyond me. Instead you observe people fighting for parking spaces, being first in line at the bank, grocery stores, getting into the fast lane on the freeway and making ugly gestures at each other.
Some humans consider the failure of not getting the best advantage in lines and traffic conditions "bad Luck" instead of considering the possibility that it was meant to be. That any variation of the circumstances might have have led to a horrific accident. (something I am well familiar with).
I had to remind myself that others are not there to make me miserable, they do not know me. My weakness has always been traveling the Los Angeles freeway system. I am now much more relaxed as I have learned that patience will overcome many circumstances we are faced with on a daily basis.
I remember when I visited Athens Greece last summer. We stayed at a hotel near the Acropolis. We could see the Acropolis from our balcony. We decided to rent a car and drive to Delphi. While I got detailed driving directions to Delphi, I felt no need to get directions to return to the hotel. After all, we were returning at night and the Acropolis is lit at night and could be seen from miles away. If we found the Acropolis we would find our hotel.
Well ~~ a very long story short, we got lost and it took over an hour to find our hotel in spite of directions by numerous people on the street which led to hiring a cab who also got lost as I was following it. Needless to say tensions from family members in the back seat were intense.
After arriving at the Hotel I stated "Getting lost is an opportunity for a lesson". When I meditated on the day referred to above the revelation came to me that lesson we learned from Athens was that patience brings everything to focus including but not limited to tranquility. It was meant that we enjoy Athens at night, we simply block the positive of that and became Impatient.
We learned that many of the streets in Athens are diagonal and one way which explained why we could not easily get to the Acropolis without numerous turns, etc. unless we were crows and could fly straight to the Acropolis. My friends from Athens who follow me here can understand out anxiety.
When we got to our respective rooms my sister and her family invited me out for Gyros which I had been craving since we arrived in Greece. Needless to say we did not find Gyros at 10:00 PM but we experienced the beauty of the Acropolis at night, close by. We would not have had this beautiful experience had we not gotten lost. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day!
The bottom line here is that you must never feel superior to other humans. Instead feel honored to be sharing the same space with your fellow human. This is why we acknowledge our fellow humans with a NAMASTE.
Do not take with you the poison created from the daily negative energy spewed from your impatience to the nest where you sleep. Instead bring to your life tranquility created by your patience to a Zen night. The way you deal with people each day sets the stage for that evening and days to come Know that your tranquility will be compromised by impatience.
Consider this thought ~~ your life may have been charted already, you are just catching up to it!
Allow your spirit to navigate your path in life. This can happen if you have tranquility. It is such a simple yet powerful practice that can a major effect on you and those who share that space with you.
We may not understand why certain things happen in our life but know that there is a reason for everything that we will eventually come to understand!
Live a Zen life and you will experience Tranquilly!
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