A Bad Day at the Office

I think that almost everyone has a day, every once in a while, where they just 'lose it'. That was me yesterday. I went to a staff meeting at work and let's just say that it did not go well. Something that came up in the meeting tripped some very old triggers for me. I was angry and I stayed angry for a good part of the day until I got home and had a chance to go to the gym and run off some steam. Suffice to say that I did not deal with my anger well and, though I mostly managed to keep my mouth shut, I was seething for the majority of the day.

The wonderful thing about Taoism is that each day truly is a new day. Now is the moment that matters since the past is done and the future is only a potential before us. I have to take responsibility for my actions yesterday but I can choose not to wallow in that anger any longer. I started my day (on the bus) with some reflection on what triggered my anger, then meditated for most of the rest of the trip, combining mindfulness meditation and some mantra work. I got to work with my mind refreshed and my emotions more balanced.

I have resolved to have a quiet day today and, even though I am at work, I am not engaging in unnecessary conversations. I am taking little meditation breaks as I go along. Consequently, I feel much more in tune this morning and happy that I have a practice that allows me to fall off the proverbial oxcart, get up, brush myself off and get back on.