A transformation revolution is bubbling inside your head!

Last week, I was a victim of a hit and run but only for a brief second.

My son is 10. While we were visiting my mother last weekend in a rural, mountainous part of Maryland, he came down with a virus. Because I work full time and had no vacation days accumulated, my mom volunteered to take care of him until he was better. I reluctantly agreed to let him stay with her, and my husband and I drove 2 hours back to our home in the DC suburbs.

After 4 days of texting and calling to check up on him, I left work early Thursday and drove alone in heavy 4th of July weekend traffic back to my mom's. I missed my son so much and felt guilty for leaving him and burdening my mom with taking care of him all week. Because of traffic, it took me almost 4 hours to get there.

He was very happy to see me. When I hugged him, he seemed so thin. I knew immediately that he had lost weight. I asked him if he was hungry. My mom said he hadn't eaten much all week, and he declined almost everything she offered. This made me feel even more guilty. My mother is an amazing cook and caretaker. I knew in my heart that he didn't decline her offers because they weren't tasty. Instead, I knew he was really that sick.

So I suggested soup to him. He lit up and said yes. Soup is his comfort food, in particular, ramen noodles. I know they aren't the healthiest choice, but I knew he had to eat something in order to get his belly moving and interested in food again.

My mother didn't have the soup in her pantry, so I drove to the nearest grocery store. I shopped for a few other treats I thought he would like, went through the checkout and returned to the parking lot. As I approached my car, I noticed immediately that it had been hit along the rear, driver side bumper. I couldn't believe it! I felt myself sink emotionally. I put the groceries in the car and got behind the wheel. Before I started the engine, I grabbed my phone and updated my Facebook status (because that's what we do these days, right?) :

"Inside the market for 15 minutes, apparently long enough for someone to hit my car and drive away. Wow. I can't believe people. I'm so disgusted."

As soon as I hit post, I felt my anger and frustration release. I silently said to myself, "It's just a car. It may require a few hundred dollars to fix. Oh, well. At least my son is going to get some soup."

Was it because I was face-to-face with my own words staring back at me that I realized what a waste of energy being angry was? Probably. Well...most definitely!!

As soon as I returned to my mom's, I put water on the stove and prepared the soup. It was already past his bedtime, but that wasn't a concern. I sat next to him while he happily ate and slurped away. I felt much better knowing he was better and even discovered that my guilt was gone too.

I talked with my mother for a bit until she couldn't stay awake anymore. She kissed us goodnight and went to bed, while my son and I stayed up late giggling and watching "Back to the Future Part 3" on a movie channel.

When I awoke the next  morning, I'd forgotten about my rear bumper and only remembered while packing the car to leave. I stopped and stared at the damage for a few seconds and was surprised to discover that the anger and frustration hadn't returned.

I credit the work I've done with yoga, meditation and eating healthy with my newfound ability to let the small stuff go. It's just not worth the frustration, anxiety and worry. The money to fix my car will come. It's not as if I'm destitute and homeless. I have means, resources and a support network of loving family and friends. I take credit for creating that, not from a place of arrogance but from a place of healthy confidence and peacefulness.

Life isn't always going to fall into place in exactly the way you expect it to fall into place. Sometimes even the greatest setbacks are opportunities in disguise. I know it sounds cliche. So be it. It's cliche.

So in the midst of experiencing "bad" things, don't forget about the good things within view and yet to come. Even though you can't imagine exactly when or in what forms those good things will come, don't stop yourself from trying to imagine them. More than likely, the good things that come to you will be better than anything you could dream or imagine.

Namaste,
Paula Carrasquillo, RYT-200, INHC
Love. Life. Om. Yoga & Health Coaching