Saturday, October 13, 2012

Living the Precepts Isn't Always Easy

An earlier post was about the creation of a precept, sort of a rule to live by, to give guidelines on how to behave on the bike path. Here is an example of that precept in action.

Today, I decided to head over to the bike path at White Rock Lake to see if I could blade a few miles before the predicted rain came. To set the scene, it was kind of a rough morning. I woke up feeling grouchy, not sure why. The drive over to White Rock was not the smoothest. It seemed like I had to wait at every light. It was almost like The Truman Show, every car that could be in my way, was. Nobody was in a hurry. Then, once I finally got there, the parking lot was full. It was that kind of morning.

Finally, I made it to the bike path and started passing people. I did not feel like saying "On your left" or waiting for people to move so I could pass without making them or others uncomfortable. Today it just felt like everyone was in MY way. Ugh.

Fortunately, I have the bike path precept. This precept, and the behaviors it encompasses, helps to guide my actions on days like today when I'm not feeling exactly spiritual. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how I feel. Just because I am grouchy doesn't mean I get a free pass to annoy others.

Whether I felt like it or not, I worked to follow the precept. Trying to have fun without imposing my grouchiness on others. It wasn't long before I was back in the flow, focusing on the breath and simply rollerblading.