While riding my bike in the rain without appropriate rain attire, I could feel a growing agitation at the discomfort.

I was resenting the rain. Many of us here in Vancouver resent the rain. Since it rains about 45% of the time in Vancouver, this is absurd.

But this is how we are, us humans, isn’t it? Absolutely absurd. Fiercely resisting what is. So here comes the freezing winter we were promised and the groans are getting louder.

On this day in the rain, I played with this metaphor of physical vs interior discomfort by getting off my bike, sitting in a community garden and allowing myself to get soaking wet and cold. The only pain in the experience was when I was resenting the discomfort of it all. But when I allowed myself to just be wet and cold, all was fine.

What’s happening keeps happening. Without getting into any philosophical arguments about the existence of free will, I will say that although we can be in action around changing what is happening, what is happening right now is still what is happening and the resistance, resentment or push against that won’t make a damned difference at all.

Dealing with What’s Happening

Headache? Kids grating on you? Didn’t meet your quarterly target? It’s raining? Car won’t start? Lover is being impossible? Your work is leaving something to be desired?

The amount of energy we put out against what’s happening dramatically undercuts our ability to put energy into making happen what we want to happen or even being able to enjoy that which may be unexpected.

If we put a little less energy into trying to change things that ‘shouldn’t be’ and put it into expanding our ability to be with that which is uncomfortable, we’d probably be able to enjoy what’s happening a lot more, whether it’s just what we want or exactly what we hoped would never happen.

So go sit in the snow or something.