Begin again

Today was one of those days where just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong:

It started with being shaken awake at 3 AM when my laptop spontaneously started blasting Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye.

While running errands, I missed not one, not two, but three exits on the highway.

A replacement part to fix my pen that I’d been eagerly awaiting finally arrived… only the part was defective.

This is a fraction of the day’s mishaps.

Just as my mounting frustration was beginning to reach its peak, I had a moment of clarity.

I have a choice: I can continue to let my mind steam with frustration or I can take a deep breath, let go, reset, and approach the next thing I do with an open mind.

One of my favorite quotes from Alan Watts distills this insight nicely: “you’re under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago.”

All these frustrating events have come and truly gone: it’s not 3 AM anymore, the errands are done, and the issue with the replacement part is what it is.

All that’s left — in fact all there ever is — is just this moment, and how I choose to show up in it.