Road Work Ahead - The Challenge of Mindfulness

“The challenge of mindfulness is to be present for your experience as it is rather then immediately jumping into change it or try to force it to be different.” Jon Kabat-Zinn
 
If your city is anything like Tucson, there seems to be road construction everywhere, and I am sure you find it frustrating.  You probably had a plan, and this road construction was not part of your plan. Or, you were already running late and this road construction is going to make you later; you feel your blood pressure beginning to rise with your frustration and anger.
 
Mindfulness is about accepting “what is” as it is.  You cannot change the road construction, unless of course that is your job.  However, what you can change is your reaction to the road construction, or whatever challenges arise in your life.  The more you accept things as they are and go with the flow, the more you will be at peace.  You can’t force things to be different then they are, but you can become aware that you are getting frustrated and angry and choose if this is how you want to be in this moment.  Maybe anger and road rage will get you through the construction faster, but I am pretty sure that it will not be the case, and you will arrive at your destination even more stressed out. So, choose a different reaction, take a slow deep breath and think of some things in your life to be grateful for than many people in the world don't have like roads and cars.
 
What challenges arise in your life that you try to change?
 
How could you accept the situations as they are?
 
What would be different in your life emotionally and physically if you didn’t try to force things to be different?