Most of y’all have probably heard how my weekend went, after I had to cancel all of Friday’s classes so early in the morning (Again, so sorry!) But there’s a much deeper element to this unfortunate situation that I think is important to dig into.
Around 6:45am Friday morning, I was just 10 minutes from my house headed toward the studio, excited about some new moves we would be exploring in our Sculpt & Stretch class, listening to our workout playlist and getting ready for the day. Suddenly, in the corner of my eye, I see a collarless dog tearing across the road toward the front of my van. I slammed on the brakes, and swerved as far off the road I could since there was a significant ditch and fence beside me, but it wasn't enough. Everything was a blur, but the sound of the dog and van colliding seemed deafening. In one second, I see the dog cartwheeling back across the road, I might have screamed? But all I know is by the time I had yanked my van into park, the dog had bounced up and was running back to its home, to the arms of a horrified teenager who had seen the whole thing.
I couldn't breathe as I ran across the road into their driveway to check on the dog, who was running about the girl as she tried to check him for any injuries, seemingly completely fine. She assured me that he looked okay as the sound of shrieking grew louder and louder. The dog’s owner appeared, beside herself and screaming at me asking if I had hit her dog. I was still physically shaking and mentally shaken, but I told her yes and apologized as her daughter yelled over and over for her mom to calm down, the dog was okay.
When I didn't retaliate with anger for being lashed out at about a situation that was definitely not my fault and didn't point fingers, she did eventually settle down, and asked if I was okay. "I heard a crunch" She said, when asking if I was okay and if my vehicle was damaged. I was still in such shock myself, so I assured her everything was fine, I was just really glad her dog was okay. I didn’t even look at the front of the van as I climbed in, tried to breathe, and pulled away.
A few miles down the road, all hell broke loose as the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. The van began to run hot, I realized my AC wasn’t working, and the most random lights were flashing. All I could do was pull over into a little diner parking lot, watch my radiator fluid gush out onto the gravel, and have a good cry.
The deputy who came to get all the information I could provide about the accident stayed with us while we waited on the tow truck I had requested at 7:30 but didn’t make it to us until 10:10. The driver couldn’t run our card for payment, because his phone had too poor service to call in the charge. So after waiting in the quickly warming lot for so long, it was a mad dash of trying to get all the bills and coins together that we could find because neither my fiancée or I ever carry cash.
I had to cancel two classes, one private yoga class, and two unrelated jobs that I was supposed to do that day. I lost count of the amount of phone calls I had to make and answer for the rest of the day. And if y’all know me - I don’t talk on the phone. Ever. In fact, I HATE talking on the phone. My phone is a texting device, y'all. That's IT.
It really wasn’t until much later in the day after things began to calm down a little (and I stopped freaking out a lot) that we realized just how great everyone was that we had encountered. And the day had really gone as good as it could have, all things considered.
So what’s the moral to the story here?
It really goes to show how seriously your own reactions and interactions with others can dictate how your day - and someone else's day, too - goes.
If i were to have lashed out about the unwatched dog, the long waits, the inability to accept payment, the questions that didn’t have immediate answers, the folks who couldn’t control if they had cars to rent out, and didn’t have time to answer phones on busy weekends, the entire situation could have gone even more downhill.
Not only would the negativity have traveled into each other person’s life and potentially ruined the rest of their day or even weekend, but allowing myself to get worked up more and more would have simply created even more stress and frustration in my own day.
When we meet people with a bit of patience and grace, and take a moment to look past our own frustrations, it helps to remember that everyone is human, just trying to make it through the day. Everyone makes mistakes, and deep down, we all want the same thing—a little less stress and to be treated with kindness and respect. We can truly curate our day to be a little more positive, despite the things we can’t control, while also making someone else’s day a little easier, better, and kinder.
And this is where our yoga practice comes OFF of the mat and becomes far more than the shapes we try to make with our body. As in this instance, it starts with the very first limb of yoga, the Yama named Ahimsa.
Ahimsa translates to non-violence, or non-harming, but it goes so much more beyond that. It encompasses having compassion, empathy, and kindness toward all living beings… including ourselves.
Ahimsa encourages us to first and foremost act with love and consideration, recognizing our interconnectedness with others.
When we respond with patience, kindness, and understanding, instead of anger and frustration, we are embodying Ahimsa, and we are practicing TRUE yoga.
So let’s be especially mindful to remember the shared humanity that connects us all. Let’s make life better. For ourselves, and for others.
We can create a better, kinder world, when we strive to be better, kinder people.
Be kind to others.
Be kind to yourself.
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