We all had those days; you fall out of bed - late of course. You pour your coffee, instead into our mouth, all around it and onto your white shirt. After putting on your everyday natural makeup, you look like a showgirl dancing the finale on Broadway. You give an immense effort not to miss the train, and while sprinting towards the train (in high heels) you almost get hit by a car.
You miss the train by nanoseconds, of course.
Cursing on the platform
OK, Situations like that may not have happened to you, but they certainly have happened to me. While standing there on the platform, swearing and indulging in the feeling of “everybody is against me”, “why me?”, “what did I do wrong?”, “what is karma (that bitch) trying to tell me?”
Out!
Whatever the situation, you know you need to turn it around as soon as possible.
In the middle of a super bad day, you are prone to make blank statements like, “I feel so stupid” or “Why is everything and everybody working against me?”
Pause your catastrophic thinking and realize that your mind is cluttered and you tried to be more efficient by doing as many tasks at once.
How you may solve the problem
Concentrate on one thing and one thing at a time only! I have learned it the hard way:
I was raised by a Japanese.
I can’t recall on how many times my mom tried to tell me not to walk and drink and sing my favorite song all at the same time…
I thought I was being efficient by doing so, but of course, I was not. It took me some time (forty something years) to acknowledge that and thank my mum for her stubbornness.
What the Japanese are really good at is in their blood: Living in the moment and having a mindful life. The Japanese have a way of celebrating the moment: Do one thing at a time.
When opening the door, focus on opening the door.
When pouring tea, focus on pouring tea.
When having a conversation, focus on the conversation and what your vis-à-vis is just saying and let them finish their sentence.
Also a very good example of living in the moment is the Japanese Tea ceremony. It is a time of centeredness, mindfulness and grace.
Live every moment to the fullest. Spend all your energy on one thing only. And use both of your hands for this one thing. Do not focus on what happened in the past, don’t focus on what could happen in the future.
Just be and fully enjoy the moment, even if it is the moment of just taking a sip of coffee.
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