I remember as a kid going over to my grandparents’ house in the summer to check on them. For whatever reason their 1940’s era stick-built home stayed as hot as a furnace during the summer. They had a large window AC unit they hardly ever used due to the cost of electricity. Opting instead to keeping the windows open and box fans running throughout the house. While sitting at the kitchenette sweating my ass off, Grandma always kept an old milk jug full of ice water in the fridge. So between the heat and the cigarette smoke at least there was some refuge from my discomfort with an ice cold glass of water.
Thinking about this we often look at life as just a set of chores. Never fully appreciating the simple pleasures of living, like the sound of laughter or the fullness of a good meal. Yesterday I had a conversation with someone and after that conversion I was totally stressed out. Not by anything in particular they said to me, but from the extremely negative way they were looking at their situation. I understand more than most the need to vent your frustrations. I just suppose at that moment I wasn’t the best person to be venting any of this information too.
While your circumstances at the moment may not be best, we can often find ourselves on the receiving end of someone else’s bad news. Seeking refuge mindfully may be a given for some of us, but for others we may be their only lifeline. Sometimes advice may not be the thing they need at the moment. Often they just need a sounding board to relieve the stress. So despite the immediate discomfort, it’s good to know you can still be there to help relieve some of the burden. So for me that cold glass of water was the fact that I can still offer some refuge in the heat of the moment.
Thinking about this we often look at life as just a set of chores. Never fully appreciating the simple pleasures of living, like the sound of laughter or the fullness of a good meal. Yesterday I had a conversation with someone and after that conversion I was totally stressed out. Not by anything in particular they said to me, but from the extremely negative way they were looking at their situation. I understand more than most the need to vent your frustrations. I just suppose at that moment I wasn’t the best person to be venting any of this information too.
While your circumstances at the moment may not be best, we can often find ourselves on the receiving end of someone else’s bad news. Seeking refuge mindfully may be a given for some of us, but for others we may be their only lifeline. Sometimes advice may not be the thing they need at the moment. Often they just need a sounding board to relieve the stress. So despite the immediate discomfort, it’s good to know you can still be there to help relieve some of the burden. So for me that cold glass of water was the fact that I can still offer some refuge in the heat of the moment.
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