I had to get gas. I hadn’t been paying attention because I don’t drive all that much, and when I do drive most everything is super close. Completely slipped my mind. So on the way to pick up Daughter from her theater group I went and got gas. It was that time of day when everyone is getting off of work, people want to get where they are headed, and no one is feeling too energized and happy. This was all true of me. So, I pulled into the gas station and every pump was busy. I saw someone who looked ready to pay and pulled behind him, primed to quickly pull up and get my car taken care of. I bet you know what happened, don’t you?

Yup. I chose wrong.

The man I thought was getting ready to pay was really fumbling around in what could only be a borrowed car looking for the pop for the gas tank so he could open it and begin the process.  Eventually he found it, and then began a do=impute with his passenger about who was going to pay for the gas. All around me, cars were coming and going, people pulling in, people getting gas, people leaving, and all of it too quick and busy for me to move.  Man, I was getting frustrated. I had a place to be! I could feel my anxiety growing in my chest like a living thing. My aggravation was becoming a solid mass.  I had to stop. So I did. 

I took a solid five count yoga breath and asked myself if this was really important. It really wasn’t. I wasn’t going to be late, I always plan ahead for that eventuality. I wasn’t going to run out of gas waiting. I wasn’t going to miss out on anything special. There was no reason at all for me to be aggravated other than life was taking more time than I expected and I was a little bit bored. After my breath, I looked around and took a second. This wasn’t so bad. I opened my windows and celebrated the breeze taking away the gas smell from my car. I skipped to my favorite song on my phone and really listened to it. I filled my tank instead of only putting in the even dollar amount I like to do because I knew I had an amazing trip coming up in just a few days. I thanked the Universe for allowing me a trip with my love to see some amazing people to look forward to. I thanked the Universe for the day. 

Eventually I pumped my gas and as I did so, I thanked the Universe again. It was 63 degrees and sunny and trees and flowers were everywhere. I had learned a lesson that I hope I will carry with me forever; there is nothing going on out there that is so important that I need to get aggravated about a couple of minutes of time. When I got back into the car and on my way, I didn’t hit a single red light on the rest of my drive. I think the Universe said, “You’re welcome.”