Week 3-Reading Response

Chapter 7, The Way Things Are

Letting the “storm sweep its course”, is a valuable lesson. I feel we have been so conditioned to believe life is always supposed to be pleasant and comfortable and resist the very valuable and real feelings of frustration, anger and sadness. To embrace and be present when things are bumpy and roll with them; that’s also part of the ride. I often see “storms” brewing in my six-year-old son. It begins with a tantrum or two, or a fight with his older brother and finally ends in a trip to his room for a time out. I have come to realize that time is valuable for him. The storm rages, for a few minutes while he usually explodes in tears, yet he emerges from it minutes later new and completely refreshed kid. Sometimes we all need a good cry or scream. It is release.

In chapter 7, Mr. Zander also discusses “exits” as a way people often time deal with very unpleasant feelings or circumstances. Turning our backs on things that make us very uncomfortable always seems to resurface in the long run. I had a friend whom lost his mother to cancer 10 years back. He still has yet to visit his mother’s grave since despite the fact that she is buried only minutes away from his home. He’s also developed in these years since her passing, a drinking habit that wasn’t there before her death. Being “present” to life’s realities, comes more naturally for some than for others. The teachings of Zen Buddhism, and yoga which incorporate those very beliefs of being “present” and “in the moment” into a spiritual practice, and

is a skill that some people acquire after years of practice and training.