Picking up a few items in the supermarket should have been a relatively simple matter. Today it was not. In fact, planning the invasion of Normandy paled in comparison. A careless shopper, intent on rushing through the aisles, bumped her shopping cart into mine. This collision knocked me into a stacked display of canned goods,causing them to scatter in every direction. Caught off-balance,I slipped and landed on a well-padded portion of my anatomy. Gazing up, I saw a number of people rushing toward me to see if I needed help. More embarrassed than injured, I picked myself up and walked on as if nothing had happened.I half smiled at the curious onlookers, but inside me was a boiling cauldron.

Finally, at the check-out counter, I felt that I was in safe territory. But even there, I encountered problems. One of the items in my shopping cart did not have a price code. As a result,the entire line was held up while someone was dispatched to confirm the actual price. Meanwhile, other impatient customers were glaring at me as if I was solely responsible for their delay. At last, someone found the correct price and I checked out. With a final effort to remain calm, I made my way back to my car, only to discover that in my haste I had locked the keys inside.

By this time I’d lost all desire to remain calm and controlled. A bumper sticker on the next car summarized my exact feelings. It said, “Patience, my ass . . . I want to kill somebody.” Placing my bag of groceries on the hood of the car, I wanted to scream in frustration. I had a spare key,but it was at home. There’s got to be a better way,I reasoned. And then it struck me. I had been reacting to all the aggravating events of the day. All I needed to do was to respond in a more enlightened manner. I had forgotten my resolve to change my perceptions and deal with problems on a different level.

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