Open Wide and Say "Ahhhhh"

Don't you hate it when fear gets the best of you?  I do!  My brain makes a unilateral decision to flood me with adrenaline and thoughts run wild like a pack of stampeding lemmings heading over a cliff of worst case scenarios.   

When our buttons are pushed and we keep replaying a scenario in our minds--real or even more amusing, imagined--that's irrational.  Adrenaline is contributing to it.  Hormones!  Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.  It makes us feel worse not better, and there is little resolution in the exercise.  We're just rehearsing a bad outcome.  The counter-intuitive trick is to open wide our heart and mind to be ready for a different solution.

One day my car started making a funny noise.  My mechanic determined it was the alternator, and it needed to be replaced.  He remarked that it shouldn't go bad at 28,000 miles.  "Is the warranty still in effect?"  "No," I sighed.  "Well, call up the dealership and use every argument you possibly can to see if they'll do it for free.  Otherwise, this will cost you a bundle."  

I went home and started to panic.  Money was tight.  And I am one of those really fair-minded people, so asking for an exception to the rule makes no sense to me.  Fair is fair, even if it is not to my advantage.  Badgering people and using emotional blackmail is just not in my value system either.   The lemmings were heading over the cliff.  So I just sat, breathed, and said a prayer for the best possible outcome.  I didn't know what that was.  But the more I open my mind and heart, the greater the chances I'll recognize a solution when it happens.

I called the dealership and spoke with the manager.  I explained the situation rationally and got no further than "Is there anything you might be able to do?"  "No problem!  We'll take care of it under our goodwill policy."  The lemmings hit the brakes and, not a little sheepishly, headed back home.  The situation could have turned out the opposite way.  Even then, I still have the option of staying open to seeing what might come of it. 

When we engage in these trying scenarios with balance and neutrality, the situation can become easier to handle.  The panic, the rage, the confusion are no help to us, so dissolving them as quickly and compassionately as possible is to our advantage.  When we are open, we can breathe.  Energy flows more readily to be of service to us and to facilitate communication.  Easy to do?  Heck, no!  But it is possible to open ourselves more and more.  Keep it up, you'll see.  And remember to brake for lemmings.

Pax tecum.