Consider This

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." - Buddha



My Uncle Rich once gave a sermon at his church on Attitude. The basic message - Attitude is a choice. You can choose how you approach situations. I believe to a certain degree this is true.

Take for example Road Rage. I know I have felt it. I know I have said things in my car about the other driver's driving ability. I have questioned their judgement. I have made comments about where they might have purchased their Driver's License. Not one of those actions actually made me feel better. Not one of those actions actually made the other guy a better driver. In just about every instance I made myself angrier, I raised my blood pressure, and I taught my kids some colorful language.

Lately I practice breathing deeply. The goal at the end of the day is to reach home safely. And in my state people are allowed to carry guns in their cars. Flicking someone off because they cut you off almost invites a freeway shooting. Breathing deeply and smiling at the offender, even if its just to yourself, at least keeps the gun holstered.

The deep breathing works in other situations. My workplace is hectic when things go wrong. There's a lot of yelling, and finger pointing, and general chaos as the situation is resolved. Deep breathing allows me to remind myself its not personal, its just work.

Deep breathing allows me to choose my Attitude.

It allows me to act instead of react.

Now I'm not saying I'm perfect at this, far from it. I still have my moments where my mouth runs away with me. And I say the exact wrong thing at the exact right moment.

And there are some situations where attitude can't over come gut emotional response.

But deep breathing never hurt anyone. We could all use a little more oxygen (except Al Gore, he wastes oxygen).


Crane Update!

They are all folded! I think. As far as I can tell, I have all the numbers in all the various colors to finish stringing the senbazuru. Now all I have to do is dedicate some time to stringing the senbazuru. So, my project for tonight, String the senbazuru!

As usual, I'll let you know how that goes (because you're just dying to know, aren't you?!)

Be seein' ya! Peace!