The Way It’s Never Been Done

“Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius

The postmaster apologized.

“You waited in this line for fifteen minutes for a stamp?”

I smiled at him.

“It was worth it. I considered it research. I’m a writer and I got to witness some fascinating stuff.”

He scratched his bald head, considered, then laughed.

Life happens everywhere.

And so it was in my Pilates class, my seventy-minute Wednesday meditation that brings mind-body-soul back into alignment. Most of the participants have been in this class for years. Some of them have laid claim to the front row like their lives depended on it. A new participant recently asked if we might change the directions of the mats so we are all facing the instructor instead of each other.

The front row balked.

“We have always done it this way!” they sang in chorus. I nudged the newbie with a grin and encouraged everyone to follow her new idea.

“The energy will flow differently, my friends. Just you wait and see!” I cheered. I could feel the wall of resistance, but then a miracle entered the room.

The front row hesitated, then smiled. I could see the Why Not? run across their faces.

“Courage for change!” I shouted from the back row.

It was revolutionary.

So often we are so stuck in our ruts that we can’t see the forest for the trees. We literally think there is only one way to do something. We live in the belief that because it has always been done this way, it is the right way. But times change and every once in a while we need to reevaluate our approach to life.

In the end, the front row complained that they couldn’t see the instructor (although they were the closest). The instructor responded with the greatest wisdom of all.

“Perhaps it is time that you look at yourself.”

Amen, sister.

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