Starting Point: Feeling Stuck
Man, last Tuesday was rough. Felt like every email was bad news, traffic was murder, and the grocery line took forever. Got home, snapped at the dog, ate junk food staring at the wall. Just… blah. Needed something. Anything.
Remembered this old Prince Siddhartha thing I skimmed years ago. Figured, why not? Dug up this dusty book called “Simple Teachings.” Decided right then to actually try it out for a week, no pressure. Just see what happens.
Three Basic Moves I Tried
- First Thing Waking Up: Instead of grabbing the phone like it’s on fire, I sat on the edge of the bed. Closed my eyes. Took three stupidly deep breaths. Didn’t aim for zen, just breathed. Air going in, air going out. That’s it. Felt weirdly silly for the first two days.
- That Annoying Coworker: Bob from accounting, right? Always complains about everything. Normally, I’d just nod, die inside, and escape. This time, I tried the “listen and don’t react” thing Siddhartha talked about. Didn’t plan to fix Bob’s world. Just looked at his face, actually heard his words without mentally arguing back. Didn’t say much myself. Didn’t even agree. Just… listened quietly. Felt like watching a car go past slowly.
- When Traffic Jammed: Horns blaring, bumper-to-bumper nightmare. Felt my grip tightening on the wheel. Remembered that stuff about letting go of anger burning yourself. Weird thought popped up: “This sucks, and fighting it in my head makes it suck harder.” So I gave up the fight. Accepted that yes, right now, I was stuck in metal cage purgatory. Rolled down the window, smelled the weird city air mixed with exhaust, put on some dumb 80s music loudly. Didn’t magically love traffic. Just stopped adding inner fire.
What Actually Happened? Softer Edges
Didn’t levitate. Didn’t suddenly love Bob. Traffic still sucked. But here’s the weird bits:
- That three-breaths thing? After a few days, it felt less like duty and more like stepping into a quiet room for 30 seconds. My mornings felt less frantic. Phone could wait.
- Bob? Still complained. But me not fighting it? Felt… lighter. Used less energy. One day, I even thought, “Man, Bob sounds really tired today.” Felt strange.
- That acceptance thing in traffic? It cut the extra suffering. The anger still came, but I could kinda see it rising, say “yep, anger,” and let it slide away like water. The jam was still there. My boiling insides? Less.
Takeaway? It’s Shockingly Simple (and Hard)
Honestly? Biggest thing I learned this week? This Siddhartha wisdom isn’t about magic fixes or becoming some saint. It’s about turning down the volume on your own inner mess.
Three deep breaths? Just a pause. Listening quietly? Just letting things exist without resistance. Accepting the mess? Just not pouring gasoline on the dumpster fire already happening.
It felt like smoothing down rough edges on old furniture. Still the same wood, same problems. Just less splinters catching you all the time.
And yeah, it’s simple to read, but dang it is hard to do! Mind wanders like a toddler. Old habits roar back. But catching yourself? Taking that breath? Letting things just be for a minute? Boy oh boy, even a little bit of that starts changing how your days feel.
