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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Viewpoints

My friend, MP, and I had lunch earlier this week. Our relationship started almost 7 years ago when MP joined a Yoga class that I was teaching. Then she added restorative, meditation, and private lessons with me.


Now we mostly see each other socially every few months (her work schedule is crazy).


Over lunch, MP shared with me, "There are several things you said back when I was taking Yoga that have really stuck with me. One of them is when you said to question whether-or-not something will really matter 20 years from now."

I remembered this was something I used to say to the kids frequently when they began bickering as younger children. I'd ask, "Will this matter next week? Will it matter when you're an adult?" As they got older, the question became, "Will it matter 20 years from now? Will it matter on your death bed?"

If the answer is "no" (and it usually is), then stop worrying about it. As Richard Carlson said "Don't sweat the small stuff."

The other day, MP missed a couple of meetings due to a mix up. Instead of getting anxious and uptight, she exhaled and asked, "Will this matter 20 years from now?" The answer was "no." She told me that this little exercise of putting things into perspective is all it took for her to remain calm and cool.


Thanks, MP, for the reminder. Funny how a slight change of view can change everything.



Love Much,

Kris
http://www.totalhealthyoga.com/
http://www.totalhealthyogaclasses.blogspot.com/

Today is the first day of the rest of your life!

1 comment:

Mary said...

Thanks for writing about what matters. Timely for me. I'm going through a bit of stress at work and you're right, will it matter tomorrow, next week or even in 20 years? Nope.