Train stops...

Yesterday, I experienced something new.  I found myself stopped to wait for a train.  I was on my way to a meeting, and the train made me late.  However, I waited for this train for TWELVE minutes...TWELVE!  and...I might add, that I waited patiently for that twelve minutes.  I pulled up behind 6 other cars that were already waiting...I glanced at the clock and it said 4:31pm.  During my wait...I just sat.  I watched as 4 out of the 6 cars in front of me turned around to find a different path to their destination.  I just sat...not thinking...not getting ticked off...just in peace...then the train passed and I looked down at the clock to see 4:43.

I can definitely hear some of you saying right now..."Really lady?  What's the big deal?"  THE BIG DEAL??  This is HUGE for me...because I usually yell, pound the steering wheel, yell some more, and at this time...it's only been a minute...so then I turn around and find another way around the train.  By the time I get to where I needed to be, the train has past and I would've made it to my destination at the same time...if not sooner if I would've just waited. 

Why is waiting so hard?  I'm not going to lie, after I realized that I waited for 12 minutes {and not even realizing it had been that long}, I felt different.  But it was a good different...it was a different that I hadn't felt before, or at least in a very LONG time.  It was a feeling of calmness.  With all the hustle and bustle of my daily life, trying to be in control of everything and wanting everything to go MY way...I lost grasp of those moments in life when everything stands still...you don't have to think...you don't have to worry...you don't have to wonder...you {just have to be}...and then, those good feelings will come to you!

What are the train stops in your life?  What are those things that MAKE you stop...or at least those things that are trying to make you stop your hectic life...just for a moment?  It could be your child that wants to sit and read with you...but you are too busy because you HAVE to get the dishes done, or you HAVE to get the laundry done.  It could be the little old lady driving 40mph in front of you when there is non-stop traffic coming in the other lane.  It could be your son/daughter asking you to lay with him/her at bedtime because they are scared...even though you have a million of other things to do because you finally have a free moment.  It could be your computer not working at the end of the day when you HAVE to get on facebook to check out what all went on in the lives of your "friends" that day...  


Whatever those train stops are in your life...use them.  Use them as a chance to "chill" out and just {be}.  Don't worry...don't hustle...don't panic...don't argue...don't get upset...don't get anxious...just be calm.  Because chances are...once you've had a little breather...you will be able to enjoy your "destination" a whole lot better when you get there...even if it's not exactly how or when you had planned it!

XO
Angie