August 06, 2023 – A

Emergency room personnel have it down,
doing what needs to be done
with whatever comes through the door.

It is their business to meet all circumstances
with what is called for
without allowing their emotional reactions
to get in the way.

We would do well to train ourselves
to deal with all of our circumstances
in the same way.

If we spill the milk,
we clean up the milk.
If the car has a flat
we take the appropriate measures
to get the flat fixed
or a new tire purchased.
Etc. all day every day
for the rest of our life.

Just deal with it
with no editorial embellishment.

No expectations.
No opinions.
Only: See! Do!

Each situation that arises
has its source in the circumstances
that produce it.

It is ridiculous to take personally
anything that crops up,
much less everything.

Be the emergency room physician,
nurse,
technician,
dealing professionally with the moment
in every moment--
without being emotionally involved,
upset,
reactive.

Get up and do what needs to be done,
and be ready to do it again
in the next moment.

Live as though you have nothing at stake
in your life.

Think about it.
What do you have at stake in your life?
Nothing means anything
we don't permit it to mean.

So what if the flood waters wash away
our possessions?
We begin the task of putting things together
with our best effort to meet 
the demands of the day
from day to day.
It is a grim task, to be sure,
but it means nothing to us personally,
only logistically and financially.

Be the emergency room physician,
nurse,
technician,
doing what the circumstances call for
without being undone by things we don't control.

Situation by situation
all our life long.

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