Day 51: The Lightness of Being

My mom likes to tell a story about this time when she was young and her family was running late to an event. My grandfather, quite a punctual and stoic captain in the navy, was frustrated with the family for getting out the door slowly and causing this occurrence. It was the first leg of trip, the gate came down at the railroad track, and a slow moving freight train rolled on by. My mom reported that this freight was the longest she'd ever seen, and as car after car went by, she could see my grandfather becoming more and more agitated. Just as the caboose was coming through, the train rolled to a stop. And then started backing up.

Even my grandfather laughed.

I have found there are times raising this child when it feels like I am sitting in that car watching the train roll backwards. I've planned my exit from the house to a T, then the baby announces furiously she's starving, then she poops, a huge blowout poop up her back, then she screams when I put her in the carseat. And I could find my frustrated with this series of events, and do, but I can also laugh at the situation.

Because it is funny. The human condition is funny. What really gets us going is often quite funny. But sometimes we miss the humor when we are stressed out, overwhelmed, or need things to be different than they are.

Nearly every meditation teacher I've ever had has been quite the comic. Not because they spend hours scripting a stand up routine, but because they are brilliant observers of the human condition. They see so clearly the trappings of our minds, and simply speak them back to us with compassionate and light. Its the gentlest form of feedback I've ever received, in that it is universal and comedic.

So I invite you to look for the light in those hard moments, when we are taking it all a little too seriously. Offer yourself a knowing laugh. "Ah, here I am being a human again. It's hard to be a human sometimes. I'll get through this."