My Annoyance

For anyone that follows Thich Nhat Hanh, you will know that he practices mindful breathing.  Within this, there is what's called mindfulness of feelings.  This is a way to acknowledge any feelings that are present, both good and bad.  For the bad, it's also a way to heal and accept.  He teaches not to suppress bad feelings or try to remove them, but instead to keep them, acknowledge them and take care of them because they are a part of you.

The other morning I was practicing my mindful breathing.  The kids were playing not far from me and were being somewhat loud and distracting.  I found myself getting more and more annoyed.  That feeling seemed to rise further and further up, and I could sense anger starting to follow it.  Thinking of Thich Nhat Hanh, I managed to re-focus.  And instead of trying to suppress my annoyance, I just let it come.  I accepted it and I found myself thinking "Hello annoyance.  It's okay that you're here.  Because let's face it....they truly are being annoying."  And immediately I found myself smiling and then laughing.  My annoyance dissipated...and the anger never had the chance to amount to anything more.

A feeling might start because of an external source, but it is completely within my own power to determine if, or how much, it grows.

Edit:  I was literally about to publish this when Sifu Brinker posted the announcement for the second shutdown.  This blog entry can apply to how I move forward with this challenge as well.  I am in total control of how I respond to this shutdown and the challenges that come with it.  Do I prefer to be at the Kwoon?  Yes.  Do I halt my progress and wait for it to re-open?  Absolutely not.  There is a tremendous amount of opportunity and growth to be had in any situation.  Often more so in the difficult ones.