Dear John,

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the bank to get some cash. I turned into the lane for the drive-through ATM and waited for someone in front of me to finish her business. Five minutes passed when I started to get antsy. What’s taking so long, I wondered as I shifted in my seat.

Breathe, I told myself. It’s just a chance to practice patience.

Five more minutes passed, and I could feel the energy ramping up in my body. Who stays at an ATM for ten minutes? I whined to no one. Why does she keep putting her card back in the slot? Doesn’t she know she’s taking too long?

On edge like everyone else because of this week’s election, I saw what I was doing and reminded myself: This could have been your Mother. She’s clearly having trouble with the machine, so relax. Manage your energy and enjoy the moment.

When the woman finally finished and drove away, I pulled up to the ATM only to discover that it was “temporarily out of service.” Staring at the words on the screen, I laughed at the perfection of it all.

Every day, life finds a way to bother us. You name it: long lines, bad weather, sick kids, canceled flights, unexpected bills, broken pipes. There’s always something to contend with. If you’re lucky, you eventually come to the realization that life isn’t trying to harm you. It’s trying to grow you up. Every challenge provides an opportunity to return to this moment, to calm the small self that wants to fight, fix, or control the situation, and redirect ourselves to a more evolved position.

It is a profound shift in how we approach life to make this practice a priority, and it’s one I resist every day. But it’s honestly the only path to peace.

If you want to be free from fear and anxiety, you need to manage yourself, not others and not life. Become the witness. Pay attention to your thoughts. Curb the impulse to act when your energy gets provoked. Take a time-out. Grow yourself back up.

The world needs wise adults right now, not dysregulated children, and like it or not, you’ve been chosen to do this work. We all have. We need to do what it takes to bring clarity, compassion, and wisdom to any situation that needs it. And everyday events give us a chance to practice.

Now, I recognize that handling a woman who is taking more time than we expected at an ATM may be a grade school lesson, while a presidential election with the level of absurdity we’ve seen is a PhD program. But you have what it takes. We all do.

When the election is over, there will be plenty of work to do regardless of the outcome. We need spiritual soldiers ready to fight the good fight.

My prayer for this challenging time is that you’re with me ❤️.

Love,
Cheryl

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