How has the world been giving you this lately? “I wish I could…I wish I had more…I wish they would…” This mindset can easily throw us out of balance.

I have a month of travel reservations coming up. It’s taken a year of planning to acquire lodging, tickets, plans with friends. I’ve been turning my expectations and mindset into letting them go if the shutdown continues. All a first world problem, all a privileged problem when I have safety, food, and warmth anywhere I get to go.

What is it for you? What, right now or today, do you wish was different? Especially the things you have no control over.

It can be a trap. We are missing the gifts, beauty, and opportunities that are actually present. Want more time…really?  We are designed/evolved/whatever for 24 hours a day. That’s it, that’s all we can handle. Who chose what you’re doing today? Even if an org or another person arranges it, you probably chose the gig. We choose our friends and how to relate with our families.

Yes, we get a lot we didn’t choose. We know from stress research that it isn’t the stress that matters, it’s how we respond.

I’m not saying I’ve got this. It takes continual awareness and space to hold all the unexpected stuff. Packing it in 24/7 isn’t sustainable—something will eventually crack. We need room to make conscious decisions so we’re OK with the outcomes. My choice, my experience, my response.

Have some conversations on this— “What do you wish was different right now?” Or, “Is there anything nice happening that you/we can appreciate more?” Like the garden at Mavens’ Haven right now–flowers in November.

There’s a lot of Yoga here— self-regulation, cultivating non-violence, letting go, contentment, and seeing things as they are.