April 2011

It seems wrong to reference April showers on a day with so much sunshine, but it is April after all, and according to the weatherman, we will get more than our fair share of wet over the next week.

Whenever mother nature decides to throw a curveball and send us nasty weather like we're expecting, I am reminded how many things in my life are out of my control. Rainy and damp conditions are an obvious example of things I have no control over, though everytime it rains, my dogs look at me as if they're hoping I will hit a switch to make the rain stop so they can go outside.

Much to my chagrin, there are many other things that I can't control. The actions of others, traffic conditions, gas prices, the way people feel about me, etc. The list is neverending and "stopping the rain" is still right up there at the top....much to the disappointment of my dogs! Vairagya (non-attachment) seems to be appearing in my newsletters and in my life quite a bit lately. As life takes its course and hands you all types of obstacles that you didn't expect, it helps to take inventory over how much of your life is dictated and controlled by other beings in the universe...other people, nature, the government, etc.

I try and take a quick inventory of things I cannot control whenever my life takes a strange trajectory that is completely unplanned. The mental image of a lifeline trajectory always reminds me of Back to the Future II when Biff's possession of the futuristic Sports Almanac creates an alternate 1985. Non-attachment is such a broad concept. Learning to let go of things that are out of your hands really is the only way to be free. The attachment we sometimes have to the approval and praise of others, and the desire to be liked can be summed up by one of my favorite quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Though you may not be able to control the actions and feelings of others, you will always be in control of the effects the actions and words of others have on you.