Good Thing I'm in a Zen Place

Let me share with you some of the less glorious moments of my last week. On Thursday while chauffuering my instructor to the site of our afternoon photo excursion (Ernie's Barn, a three-story potpourri of antiques, treasures, and just plain junk), my convertible died. It gave a brief warning (as in, "that doesn't sound good") and then basically just came to a halt about seven miles from our destination. Fortunately, our T.A. was following close behind and was able to take our teacher to meet the rest of the class while I stayed back to deal with the car. I was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere and it was really hot (93 degrees -- fairly atypical Maine weather) so I took it as a good sign that there was a tow truck about 30 yards down the road who happened to be heading back to Rockport where I needed to go. It was not such a good sign, however, when I got a call the next morning from the Herrick's Auto Repair (on Rockville Street, of all places) informing me that my engine was, to borrow a theological term, beyond resurrection. The only solution was to replace it at a cost greater than the value of the car, so it stayed in Maine (on a side note, when they called the Chrysler dealer to find out about a replacement, and the response was, "Oh, that junk engine?" -- that's really not a good sign). So then on Tuesday morning of this week, I had to laugh at myself when I found my cell phone sitting among the load of sheets at the bottom of the washing machine (fortunately, unlike my car, I was due for an upgrade anyway). And then yesterday, I had the privilege of sitting in the dentist's chair for two hours as he completed my root canal and prepped my tooth for a crown -- how's that for a welcome home?

But life is still very good and I've learned over the years to not sweat too much the things that you can't control. Cars will break down, cell phones will occasionally go through the washer, and we all have to face the dentist some time. Whether incidents turn into disasters or just bumps in the road often has a lot more to do with our attitudes and reactions than the events themselves. I am choosing to be grateful for the gifts of each day (a timely tow, a chance to laugh at my own foolishness, novocaine) and to stay in my Zen Zone even if I'm no longer in Maine. So how was your week?