When I have “one of those days” I find that a play-by-play recap typically sounds like I’m making stuff up. Keeping that in mind, I’ll spare you the details of my travels today and direct my attention toward the lessons I continue to learn.

At times when I’m overwhelmed by events out of my control, I try to keep things in perspective. I attempt to settle down, remind myself of what’s most important and slowly let go of clinging to how I thought things were supposed to be. Of course, it also happens that I feel frustration, disappointment, anger and sadness as they often accompany situations that thwart my plans. We all have responsibilities and things we work hard to keep in order. It can be challenging when things don’t go our way.

In the middle of difficulty is where the rubber hits the road. This is especially true at times when it seems like a steady stream of one thing after another. I take deep breaths and practice holding my experience in the greater context of humanity. In other words, I remind myself that people all around the world face difficulty and I’m far from alone in this. Humor helps too.

Mustering up compassion during these times can be really hard. We can all get caught up in frustration and blame when things don’t go our way. I work on accepting things as they are. It doesn’t mean condoning and it surely doesn’t mean I wouldn’t wish it were otherwise. It’s more that I practice slowing down, taking a look at how things actually are and gently go from there…one step at a time.

Despite all the travel challenges today, I’m grateful for the time I spent getting to know the gentleman seated next to me on the final leg of my journey home. While his arm trembled, he explained that he’s on his way to the hospital for a second brain surgery in hopes of improving his symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. With a soft smile, he showed me how the first surgery helped his right hand function again and told me he’ll “try anything”. I felt a shift as we shared in conversation. I noticed empathy and compassion taking the place of earlier frustrations. His wife of 50 years sat quietly across the aisle.

Today undoubtedly had obstacles, but I think sometimes those obstacles are teachers reminding us to cultivate compassion and keep things in perspective…

xo