How do you do it?

How do we shut down our minds and eliminate the aggressive thoughts and chaos that sits within our heads on a regular basis. How do we block out all the negative energy that surrounds us, push away the bad and absorb the good. How do we turn a bad and challenging day into a good one? It’s simple….we don’t.

Regardless of what we would like to think, whether a Buddhist or someone who simply meditates, we cannot change the events that trigger out bad mood. We cannot change the surroundings of the world. We cannot simply go from being in a bad mood to a good mood. This has been a question asked of me on many occasions. What we CAN do however is change our OUTLOOK on the situation.

Take for example the road ragers out there. Those who tailgate us, give us dirty looks, flip us the bird as they pass us by. Those who are simply having a worse day than us, and it has been increased and magnified simply by getting in their car, behind their steering wheel and them NOT being able to control how you yourself drive. This is the exact explanation of what I was simply stating when I started this post.

We cannot do anything to amend their behavior, we cannot manipulate them into changing. We have 2 choices in this particular incident. Allow them to get under our skin, and change our behaviors simply because of their actions, or we can just let it go. I just had a moment where I became extremely irritable. I was anxious because events did not go my way, and the outcome of said events were not in my favor. I realized after I sat down on the computer that my behavior was selfish, and instead of stomping around the house for longer than I already had, I started to write.

I have journals that I write in and poetry books that I pen as well. While this is not for everyone, it works for me. I always feel better after I write. I try to write everyday, but sometimes it becomes a chore for me and I dread it. While I miss details of my frustrations or victories during the day; it doesn’t matter because what is important to me in the details, do not vary the outcome of the stories I write in these books usually.

So, today and tomorrow. When you get frustrated, irritated, angry, hostile etc…..stop, acknowledge that you are being manipulated because of the situation, and change the way you look at it. Put yourselves in a third persons shoes, and evaluate both sides of the conversation. The side of the aggressor (those who made you upset), in your shoes (the recipient) and the third person (the observer) and if you as an observer would be pissed off too, then your reaction is warranted. But a simple middle finger should not change your mood in the same way being punched in the face on an elevator by a stranger. Just keep that in mind.

Have a wonderful remainder of the day. See you at the Meeting tomorrow at 6:00 pm at 5466 Holiday Terrace, Kalamazoo MI.

Namaste