A Moment of Peace

"Grant yourself a moment of peace, and you will understand how foolishly you have scurried about.

Learn to be silent, and you will notice that you have talked too much.

Be kind, and you will realize that your judgement of others was too severe.

Hasten slowly, and you will soon arrive."

I came across this one in a Surya Das book, attributed as a Chinese proverb. I've been re-reading it every morning before going to work this past week as a reminder, which seems to have been helping me when the pressure's been on.

I did much better this week than last regarding keeping myself together when things got crazy, and came up with an anger management technique that seems to work for me, along the lines of the well-known "count to 10" routine. When I feel anger boiling up inside, I stop whatever I'm doing and breathe deeply, focusing internally until I'm specifically aware of my own heartbeat. Then I listen to it for a few moments. If I'm focused enough to do that, I'm under control, even if I still feel a little agitated. If I have time, I do it a little longer. If I'm not focused enough to be aware of my own heartbeat, I'm too wound up to work productively or intelligently, and it's time to take a break until I can. I don't know if this would work for anyone else, but it seems to work for me.