"When Jack was returning to America from his years in Thailand, he sought out an elderly Western monk and asked him if he had any advice about being back in the West. ‘Only on thing,’ said the monk. ‘When you’re running to catch the subway and you see it leaving without you, don’t panic, just remember, “There’s always another train.” I always liked this notion, even before I moved to New York and realized how impossible it was to implement. But it took me a while to realize how applicable it was in emotional situations that seemed to bear no resemblance to catching a train. The monk did not suggest indifference to the subway leaving the station, but he pointed to where control is possible. ‘Don’t panic and go running after it,’ he suggested. Rather than letting disappointment turn into anxiety or self-pity, learn to see the disappointment clearly while restraining the action. Stay with the original feeling longer. Cultivate patience. “The willingness to stay in the uncomfortable feeling when there is nothing else to be done is the cornerstone of Buddhist wisdom. ‘There’s always another train’ became a metaphor for me for how resistant I was to enduring any kind of frustration. As I worked to change my coping strategies, I found that I did not have to go running after every lost opportunity. In fact, I discovered an important, if latent, capacity within myself. I could wait.”