One fall evening I was eating dinner when my friend arrived, tool in hand, to put on my new license plates. I had bought the car that I had been leasing, and new plates had been issued. I was just a few minutes away from finishing my well earned dinner. My friend began to ask me questions about the plates. It was apparent to me that his focus was on getting the plates on whether I was finished with my dinner or not. I became irritated. I answered his questions and continued to eat while my friend went outside to change out the plates.
In about 3 minutes, my friend came back inside and announced, “Your registration doesn’t expire until next May.” This announcement threw me for a loop.I said, “Are you sure it’s not the inspection that expires in May?” “No, it is your registration.” I felt confused, abandoned dinner and began to dig through the paperwork from the leasing company to see if I could determine whether or not the registration were, in fact good for another few months, and if so, why I was charged for a full year. Something was off. Something was wrong. I am one of those intuitive people that can sense it if a cashier hands me change that is even a penny off.
I sat at my desk, reading the paperwork, looking for a clue. My friend began to tell me all the horrible things that could happen if I didn’t change the plates.He went on and on and on. I was much more interested in finding the truth about the registration than hearing information that I did NOT need. I became more irritated. I am changing the plates. Why do I need my mind filled with all these negative thoughts?? He went on and on. My disinterest in what he was saying must have been blatantly obvious because my friend became angry. His anger looked ridiculous to me and I became judgmental. At that point I excused myself and went out to sit in my greenhouse where I could get myself back together, back into a loving space.
I sat affirming, “I choose peace. I choose unconditional love. I choose harmony!” Then my thoughts went to, “I wish that ##**### would take his car keys and get out of my space!” Then “I choose peace. I choose unconditional love. I choose harmony!” Then “That *#*! Who does he think he is talking to me that way!” Then I shifted back to my peace, unconditional love and harmony statement. I went back and forth.
The commitment that I had to myself was to shift to peace, unconditional love and harmony. It took a full TEN minutes of going back and forth from my angry, judgmental thoughts to my peaceful thoughts before I finally came to peace.
My friend came out into the greenhouse with a smile on his face. He announced, “It is your inspection sticker that expires in May, not your registration. Your plates are changed.”
Who did I change? I stayed true to my commitment and changed myself. Knowing that he had been wrong, I could have easily slipped back into judgment. The place of peace that I had achieved felt much better so I decided to stay with the peace, unconditional love and harmony.
We are always at choice. We can always choose. What do you choose today?
