Conquering the Universe

Good Morning My Confidants

I've been up for several hours, and getting around to this.

It's at least a two cup of coffee morning on a day where we made only enough coffee for Noah and I had enough for one apiece! Which is understandable, because I usually only have one cup.

But for some reason this morning is at least, at least, a two cup of coffee morning.

There's nothing wrong.

Nothing really.

I wish it was warmer than 41° because the birds are singing and I want to open up the door, but just taking some recycling out chilled me too much, so that door is shut. I'm sleepy this morning.

But if that's the least that's going bad today, and this is a great day.

I have so much to be grateful for and one of them that I want to mention, but not go on about, is this class that I'm taking on Mental Equivalents. Replacing old mental pictures and ideas with new ones. Which often goes against a lifetime of pictures and ideas.

As anyone who reads me knows, I've been frustrated by a lot lately, mostly people. Mostly negative people. Are people that I am reacting to negatively. That's something that I've been considering a lot. Are they being negative? I bet they don't think they are. They probably think they're in the right. Maybe they're frustrated by people. Maybe they're tired. Maybe they need two cups of coffee this morning.

Maybe, when I hear somebody say something that would offend me, or when I say something that's flat out wrong, I don't have to react.

Easier said than done, right?

But is it impossible?

Can I practice?

Well, I'm finding that I am.

I'm not going to give any examples here, because I don't want anybody to take it personally. But let's just say that in the last week, people that I love, people that I just associate with, people that I see but I don't know their names, people who post on social media, have frustrated the hell out of me. Not everyone I know! LOL! Goodness, no! But people from all these different groups for sure.

This part of me that always needs to know is asking over and over again....how can these people think what they think, react the way they react, righteously defend lousy behavior, be rude, be mean, do the things they do, and most especially act surprised when they're called on it?

And what happens to me? I only get frustrated. More and more and more frustrated.

These people don't see that their behavior is unacceptable.

Or.....

Maybe my reaction to them is unacceptable. Unacceptable for my health that is. Mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

I'm a person who always needs to know.

And I'm realizing more and more what I have known for years but it's taking forever to get bone marrow deep and that is I don't need to know. I'm always saying that if I only knew why people act the way they act, or believe what they believe, or say what they say, that I would then understand. Or understand better. And sometimes this is true.

But most of the time? Nope.

There are a few people that have been driving me nearly insane, and they're oblivious. One of them that I try and talk to about their behavior just looks at me like I'm speaking in tongues. And I'm thinking that I'm speaking to the wall....and yet....maybe I just need to stop.

I wish I could give an example or two but I really can't. Feelings could be hurt. Trouble could start. And that's not going to do anybody any good.

So how do I say this...?

In the last week or so, when someone does something that just drives me crazy I've been doing something that's really helping.....

S ... Stop whatever I am doing

T ... Take a deep breath into my body

O ... Observe what I am feeling and thinking

P ... Proceed forward into whatever I am doing

It's too bad it would not be a good anagram to throw the letter L in between the letters O and P.

L ... Let it go

Yup, just like that incredibly wonderful awesome song that they played so much that now it's become irritating. But there is so much truth in....

"I don't [need to] care what they're going to say....It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small....And the fears that once controlled me [don't need to] get to me at all...it's time to see what I can do...." And how good it is to just let it go, let it go.....

....deep breath in....

....let it out slowly....

Just recently in acquaintance did something that is boggled my mind and I wanted to know why.... And then this voice rose up inside of me very quietly and whispered, "You don't need to know." And...! "It won't change anything." And...! "Let them be them, and you be you. You don't need to understand. They are a product of their life and their universe and their decisions and if their decisions are different than the ones that you took, that's them. Just like you or you, and yes there's plenty of people out there wondering why you do what you do...."

....deep breath in....

....let it out slowly....

That's what I did then..... And....

I stopped that Ben-needs-to-know-thing (!!!) and I took a deep breath into my body....observed what I am feeling and thinking, realized how futile all of that Ben-needs-to-know-thing was, I let it go, and proceeded forward with my evening. It was an hour or two later of having a delightful evening that I certainly realized that I had truly Let It Go in less than five minutes and hadn't spared the situation another thought!

And there is only a fraction of that...."I hope that one day they stop the way are living/behaving and be the way that I think they should be, because they would be so much happier...."

They aren't my job!

I'M my job!

I don't need to let anyone "know better!"

That meme I saw this morning that looked really misinformed that I started Googling to find out if it was true or not and then discovered it was kind of complicated and was half-truth and have not truth and that..... And suddenly I stopped!

I was wasting time researching this piece of information that had nothing to do with me and did not affect me and even if it did there was nothing I could do about it. And armed with the truth, or the truth I was almost finding but realizing that I was wasting my time finding it, was not going to change the mind of the person who had posted the information/misinformation.

I had other things to do.

It was much later than I thought it was. Three hours later now!

Let it go... let it go... Let It Go....

Hey!!! It's going to be 69° today! A wonderful temperature, and wonderfully naughty, and that makes me smile, and as I've said before, they're all kinds of health benefits to smiling!

I hope this day brings you many things to smile about. I'm going to smile. And every time I see something that makes me want to frown, I'm going to choose my mental equivalent, I'm going to think smiles.

And I'm going to bring smiles into my life.

What could be better than that?

Namasté,

BG "Gentle Ben" Thomas

PS: For some reason this post didn't post this morning. I sat right here and wrote it! Anyway, here it is now!