Sometimes things don’t go exactly as you’d planned. Unexpected events can try your patience and threaten to put you in a bad mood, and it can be tough to combat those negative emotions and put things in perspective. I was certainly tested today. When I was at work, I worked on and completed a lovely blog post for today – but as I typed the last word Microsoft Word froze, and I couldn’t get back on to retrieve my writing. When this happened I just breathed in and out, and said to myself “everything happens for a reason, I will be able to get my work tomorrow.” Then I smiled, and forgot about the incident. I didn’t want to let this small inconvenience have power over me, so I didn’t.

This evening I had made plans to go to see a play some of my friends from New Brunswick were putting on. I had the start time in my head as 9:45pm, but when I arrived at the door to the theatre I was told I was mistaken, and that the start time was actually 9:35… and I was 2 minutes late. I walked back towards the bus stop feeling frustrated and annoyed at myself. As I tried to bring up the Utopia poster on my phone, my iphone kept freezing and I felt like throwing it against the wall. I have been in such a state of bliss and allowing lately, that these negative emotions really stood out. I stopped what I was doing, and stood alone on a chunk of the sidewalk, and just allowed myself to breathe. Don’t be irrational, I told myself. Everything happens for a reason.

So what do you do when things don’t go your way?

Breathe. Just breathe. It seems so simple, but breathing helps you to put things in perspective. I practiced some deep breathing all the way home, and by the time I walked through the front door of my apartment, I felt much better. Still, disappointed, but acknowledging that although missing the show sucks, it’s not the end of the world. Very few things are the end of the world.

I believe that today was a test of sorts. I passed that test, because I was able to utilize the tools I’ve acquired to calm my mind and return my energy to a positive state within about 20 minutes. This is what I like to call “progress.”