Author: Manish Bhatia
Certified Mindfulness Trainer
My Personal Story
Sharing with you all a personal story about how mindfulness changed my behavior, changed me as a person. Hope you can relate to it.
Short temper is an emotion and reaction is the outcome.
I excelled at both until few years ago. I would shout, abuse anyone & everyone who would break the road rules while driving. It was beyond my tolerance and a permanent daily fixture. Once initiated, I would sulk for the rest of my drive – either towards office or home.
The built-up tension, the perspiration and shot up blood pressure had become an integral part of my routine. Often it resulted in bad headache by end of the day.
Would like you all to realize here that in all this commotion it was just me who went through this stress. The person who instigated this and broke road rules is nowhere in the frame. Actually, he isn’t even aware of this.
Am sure many of you can relate to this scenario because we all tend to do this once in a while or more so often.
Why I am sharing this “oh so regular thing” with you today- because am keen to tell you that nothing of this sort happens with me anymore and it has been years now.
The reason:
Mindfulness practice coupled with belief of Nicherin Buddhism philosophy, helped me understand this and made me a much calmer person that I am today.
Realization
It made me realize –
- I was trying to change a possible habitual offender in that 2 second window where we crossed our paths in our respective vehicles.
- That my car windows and his too were closed and the noise pollution didn’t let my voice reach him under any circumstances.
- And if my voice is not reaching him then where the hell is it going??
- All the loud abuse and the commotion inside me was reflecting back on me only. It is spoiling “my”day, harming “my”health. It is distracting “me” and reducing “my”efficiency.
Though I understood all of this earlier also but inspite of that I could not control out-pour of my emotions and short temper.
“And then mindfulness happened”
It changed everything for good! Mindfulness changed me as a person!
I am much calmer person today.
Short temper looks like a bygone thing now!
I am calm! I am happy!
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