Living in the Eye of Life’s Hurricane

Living in Life’s Hurricane
photo credit: bealla

Dustin’s angry outbursts got him in trouble with the law. He wasn’t violent as far as I could tell, but he could be incredibly loud and scary. This guy wasn’t very old, maybe 23 or 24, yet he had 4 kids, 3 of which were still in diaper stage. He said he tried to practice some of the mindfulness he’d learned with Anger Flexibility and when he could they were helpful.

Not a Moment Alone

But he complained that he couldn’t get a quiet moment alone to do anything that even resembled meditation. His want (and expectation), as he told it, was that everyone at home should leave him alone and be quiet so he could do this. It’s common. I used to think the same thing.

His wife would try to keep the little runts quiet, and I can only say, good luck with that.But life’s hurricane never seemed to stop

Dustin didn’t have a moment alone. Many of us don’t.

There’s often just as much chatter going on outside our craniums as there is inside, and there is plenty in there. Think about it. It doesn’t really matter what your living circumstances are.

• Dogs bark.
• Cars roll noisily by the house (or zendo, for that matter).
• Kids, yelp, argue, fight for the Nintendo.
• Harley Davidson’s rumble.
• Jets roar by overhead.
• And sometimes water drips from the faucet.

This Is Reality

Understanding this is part of dynamic acceptance.

This is the learning. Life is what it is. Things are as they are. Those of us who are easily and readily angered rail against what the Buddhist’s call the First Noble Truth. They call it ‘dukkha.’ It means that life is suffering because it is constantly changing and we desperately want it to be permanent. We want things to stop, to stay the same, to stay quiet.

And yet the faucet drips, the kids yelp, the Harley rumbles, the dogs bark, the jet roars, and the cars continue to roll by. Life is constantly changing, moving, making noise, so impermanent.

If we get some quiet time, that’s great. If we have time to ourselves, that’s a bonus. But we are also part of the cacophony. That’s what dynamic acceptance is all about, learning slowly to accept the changes that come about both inside and outside of our noggins. We are both witness and participant in both the external and internal changing drama.

This doesn’t mean we will like it. As a matter of fact, we probably won’t get over disliking these goings on. It still won’t coöperate with our whims. It might be better to get used to it.

Mindfulness and meditation ARE our time to ourselves AND the place of our own.

Even in the eye of life’s hurricane.