"How you interact with those who do not support you shows how enlightened you really are." - Adyashanti

Without having first seen this quote, I'd already begun the process of dedicating my "living meditation" to its words (living meditation is staying in prayer without needing to put Amen at the end because the prayer never ends, like the soul).

Saturday I watched Sir and Pricess Laya playing with a bunch of kids at a farm and then at a bookstore. At the farm there was a little boy whose parents weren't receptive to anyone or anything. Instead of feeling offended, I imagined that they simply weren't having a "good" day/moment. Meaning they weren't "open" at the time, for whatever reason, to a friendly exchange. Then at the bookstore there was a group of kids who seemed to be very "selfish" and "unruly." Instead of looking at them with judgement as they pushed and yelled at other kids, I decided to see them in a different light: as children who weren't being gently guided towards compassion (as I and Princess Laya's mom TRY to guide our little ones). One mom finally got fed up and yelled at the kids, but I refrained from reacting and watched to see if it made a difference.

And instead of focusing on the "unruly" kids, I played with the "yelling" mom's "sheepish" son. What I discovered is that she feared her "sheepish" son wouldn't be able to hold his own in a "mean" and "unruly" and "unforgiving" world. She feared it so much that she didn't watch and notice that, in fact, he WAS holding his own. He was the ANGEL at the table. To me, his stability brought a certain calmness. Look, the fact is that it's near impossible to be effective at dissolving ego-based, negative actions with more of the same; and her son was naturally born with the ability to know that. If she could only follow his lead, she'd feel better about the world. Sir was another ANGEL at the table who seemed totally unaffected by the "unruly" children.

I could go on and on about that situation, but today is my FIRST day off in about two months. Being a stay-at-home mom, I am with Sir every single friggin' day, pretty much without any breaks. So today, I am going back to that same bookstore, but by myself. I'm gonna get a few hours to myself to relax and see what precious moments serendipity and syncrhonicity will lead me to.