Food For Thought

"My life certainly has not turned out the way I expected. But while tomorrow will bring what it will, today was glorious."
-Elizabeth Glaser

Sometimes things just *are*. 

Why is it raining on my wedding day? It just is.

Why did I have to spill coffee all down my blouse?  You just did.

Why do there never seem to be any cabs right when I need them? There just aren't.

I believe in having faith in God/the Universe/Buddah/Allah/Grilled Cheeseus/Harry Potter/Whoever floats your spiritual boat. I believe that so often things will happen in our lives (not getting the job you want, a relationship ending, losing a competition, etc) to help align us with a greater future or to learn a valuable lesson. I believe in karma and its power to reward you bountifully or kick your sorry ass. But I also believe that sometimes a situation just *is*. It serves no real purpose. There's no reason for it's existence other than the chance to say OK, I release control. I accept this situation simply because I cannot change it. Eventually, it will figure itself out. Patience.

Travel is a really good example of this. Your flight is delayed? Automatic frustration. The security line is painfully long? Ants in your pants with a side of sighs. The movie isn't working on the plane? Eye rolls galore. I have always loved to travel, but there was certainly a time in my life when the whole process of travel would send me into tummy troubling, sweaty irritations. My bag was too heavy. I forgot to pack a snack. The person sitting next to me was too chatty. I had a silly layover. I was an ace at finding things to be annoyed with and once you allow yourself to slip down that complaining rabbit hole I think we all know how difficult it is to dig your way out.

We can't always control our initial reactions to things. There are times when emotions bubble up before we've even had a moment to process the situation. And that's OK. We're not perfect. But the beauty of being a high-functioning human is that we can, after our impulse negative reactions, choose how to react to our reactions.

Once I took the general travel stance of look, after my bags are packed and my butt is in the airport doors the rest is out of my control.  What will be, will be. It just *is*. And let's be serious--I'm about to partake in the miracle of human flight...I've found that travel is a piece of cake. I recognized a situation as it was. They lost my bag and will have to drop it off tomorrow morning? OK. That's a bummer and I wish that weren't the case. But I'm here. And it's not actually that big of a deal.

Some of my go-to tricks for the more frustrating occasions;

1. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Pause. Take another.

2. Shrug your shoulders as if to say "oh well".

3. Actually say "oh well" out loud.

4. Look around for quick things to be thankful for--the buddy you're traveling with, the fact it's not raining, your Words With Friends domination on your iPhone. It doesn't matter. When you start looking for them, the points of gratitude will show up all around.

5. Have an $8 cocktail at the bar while watching 220,000 pound Boeing 757s take off. (Seriously, how did we figure out this was possible and why is it so natural for us to agree to basically launching ourselves in a missile?).

No one knows for sure what tomorrow will bring. Life certainly tends to surprise us with outcomes, both big and small, we were not anticipating. And not all of them have some great meaning.  Why is your plane still sitting on the tarmac 45 minutes after you were supposed to take off? It just is. This is why it's so important to live in the now; why it's so important to embrace the day as a glorious one. To hold the best moments gratefully in our hearts. Nothing, not good or bad, lasts forever.

Hoping your today is glorious,

Trish

---