How Far To Heaven?

"In Zen it is said that the gap between accepting things the way they are and wishing them to be otherwise is 'the tenth of an inch of difference between heaven and hell.' If we can accept whatever hand we've been dealt - no matter how unwelcome - the way to proceed eventually becomes clear. This is what is meant by right action: the capacity to observe what's happening and act appropriately, without being distracted by self-centered thoughts. If we rage and resist, our angry, fearful minds have trouble quieting down sufficiently to allow us to act in the most beneficial way for others and ourselves." -- Phil Jackson

A snafu in my leadership of our condo gutter project led to a nearby unit getting rainwater in its basement. The call from the frustrated owner was the kind that knots one's stomach with empathy. The soonest that the gutter guys could come out was three days later, on Wednesday. It was expected to take one day, but a shortage of workers meant that it would take three. Plenty of time yet, I thought, noting that rains weren't predicted until Saturday. On Friday, I got a voice mail explaining that an error by the manufacturer meant that two units were still unfinished out of 32 - guess which ones? Oh, and the need to wait for replacement materials meant that they expected to come back next Wednesday. Yikes! The Zen dudes are right - my mood jumped that tenth of an inch.

Fortunately, time's taught me that the emotional black clouds that storm in during those moments blow over within an hour or so, as long as I occupy my mind with something else. Accepting the possibility of another disappointing weekend, trusting that there was some greater good behind it all, or that everything might turn out okay, brought peace. And wouldn't you know it, gutter guy called and said that he'd be able to make it out first thing Saturday morning after all.