Do the small frustrations of life get you really upset or even angry?
How about traffic? Yesterday, I had to drive my daughter to The Island, an outdoor mall here in Pigeon Forge. Normally, I can do this in about 30 minutes. By the time I got to Teaster Road, I realized that this was going to take a lot longer. This was Rod Run. I saw the night I had planned begin to slip away. 30 minutes. 45 minutes. Finally, I arrived at the Island. Then, I headed home. Google found me a back way, but it was along a narrow, winding mountain road with a 20 mph speed limit in the dark. I almost thought of turning around and going through all the traffic. I made it home after more than an hour. Do these sorts of delays ever frustrate you?
What about grilling? Grilling is great, but there’s one problem. You never know when the propane will run out. So, you start the grill and start cooking the meat, and then you realize, there’s no flame! Now, you have to go out into all that Rod Run traffic and get more propane. Does stuff like that ever get you really upset?
These things can easily get me upset or frustrated, but I don’t want to be upset or frustrated by them. I’d really like to be able to meet these little inconveniences with equanimity. I’d like to be better at handling life’s little frustrations.
Fortunately, I’ve developed some tools to help me deal with these things better. These tools are different mindsets and different ways of looking at these problems. When I can look at these little frustrations with a different mindset rather than the emotional intensity of the moment, I can meet these small trials with greater peace. I know my mindset won’t change in a day or a week, but these things can help over time. Also, when I find myself losing composure, I can go back to them and calm myself down. Here’s three of these perspectives:
1. Ride the wave. In C.S. Lewis’ book Perelandra, we meet a new Adam and Eve freshly created and living on the planet Venus. It’s a new, unfallen, untainted human race. They live on little floating islands on a world of water. The mentality of the Lady, the Eve character, is that whatever the next wave brings is good because it is what Maleldil (God) wants. She says, “But how can one wish any of those waves not to reach us which Maleldil is rolling towards us?” She recognizes that whatever one expects, one can accept what God actually brings. This is where the wave takes you. Accept it as good because it comes from Maleldil. Continue reading “Dealing with the Small Frustrations of Life”