It’s Monday morning and I’m up at 6am for my yoga and meditation practice before my commute into London. The morning did not start well, I would have rather stayed in bed, it was dark and rainy, and my bed felt too comfortable and warm to leave! Usually my early morning practice sets me up for the day but not today it seems...
It’s been pouring with rain all morning; it's 10 degrees and it’s supposed to be summer. I managed to get really wet just parking at the station, this did not bode well.
Just about everything this morning is irritating me. When I arrived in London, I spent 10 mins at St. Pancras station on the phone to the doctors trying to cancel an appointment, but I can’t cancel with the doctors I have to ring another number and I get really irritated. Still irritated I step on the tube and it’s heaving with wet bodies and is running a bit late.
I see the headline that Boris Johnson wants to give the richest in society a tax break while the NHS appears to be on its knees and more and more people are using foodbanks. Something is just not right. Today I can’t see the compassion and light in others, just greed and frustration and I feel my blood boiling and anger arising in me. Then I remember my meditation training ….
I remember this morning has been sent as a lesson and I have a choice to let the annoyances of the morning ruin my day or whether by stopping and breathing, witnessing my reaction I can choose a different path for the day. I decided to try the latter, so as I started to write this on the tube, even just that action seemed to slowly help relieve my frustrations and feelings of injustice. Perhaps I can’t change the bigger picture, but I can change my world and in turn hopefully impact on the people around me.
So, I’m going to stop, I’m going to inhale and exhale deeply. I’m going to be grateful I have a worthwhile job with good colleagues that pays my bills and enables me to teach yoga part time. Be grateful that I am cancelling the Drs appointment because my knee has healed naturally, be grateful I have sight to see the rain and legs to walk me to the office. Be grateful that after work I go home to a warm loving house. In the end, my Monday turned out not too bad once I had shifted my perspective. It’s not easy at times but it might be worth trying it next time you get a Monday morning grump on!