"I was at the Post Office the other day, and, as usual, the line was about fifteen people long. To make the situation even more frustrating, there was only one clerk working while two others stood in plain view chatting about something other than work. I could feel the frustration in the air. The woman in front of me shifted anxiously back and forth, and the man in back of me muttered obscenities to himself. I found myself getting sucked into this drama. I could feel tension in my face and neck, and my back molars where pressing firmly against each other. Interestingly, I wasn't in a rush. It was my day off and all I had on my schedule for the day was sitting in a café with my laptop. There was no reason for me to be in a rush, but I was acting as if I had a deep flesh wound and was trying to get to an emergency room.

”It took me a few minutes, but I was able to return to my breath. It was not easy; my ego wanted so badly to be angry and upset. But I turned that time of waiting into a meditation. By breathing deeply and bringing my mind to the present moment, I was able to calm down and find my center.

”Each of the people in front of me took turns attempting to make the clerk feel bad. One man slammed his mail down. The next person refused to talk. By the time I got to the window, I was very centered and present. Not only that, I was able to see the clerk as a hard worker who had an unpleasant job of working alone and dealing with lots of frustrated people. Rather than subtly or overtly insulting her, I decided to thank her for working so hard. The look of complete surprise on her face quickly gave way to a big smile.”