Tuesday, March 12, 2024
It’s too hot. Few of us can catch ourselves in a fit of rage or a billowing fuss of complaining, but that’s the beauty of spiritual practice. We must learn how to detect the cunning of the ego, that part of you that loves to throw fits, turn up the heat, and have a pity party. Before you start pumping hot air into all the stuff you have to do, those bills, those decisions, dealing with those situations, sit for a moment. Let the fizz settle, let the snow-globe blizzard in your head come to a standstill.
I see a lot of people living in the stratosphere of angst, up “high” where the trade winds are fierce. You see the panic in their faces, they walk pointedly and “with a purpose.” The voice is fueled with a shallow breath as they fuss and rumble about this or that. So much is important, frustrating, and entangling. The ego loves it. The over-dramatization makes them feel important, especially if they can “share” it with you.
I’m the king of big deals! If you turn it into a big deal, you’ll scare yourself. You’ll rush through it or procrastinate or push it away. You’ll never allow yourself time to think quietly. We love to wax magniloquent and blow up a sh-t show. What good is it?
Catch yourself when you’re in the weeds. It’s not that bad. It would take far less time to deal with, if you wouldn’t over-dramatize it. Watch others be “big-deal” people. Watch how they relish in their fear, their “importance,” and their victimhood. Be a big-deal deflector. Catch yourself blowing hot air into simple, ordinary situations. The world is already too hot. Chill by turning down the temperature on all of your fiascos. If we all had cool heads, the heat in this world would dissipate.