Problem solving works best when done, as the Bhagavad Gita says, when we simply act without expectation. Ridgely has just finished going through several weeks of malfunctions and breakdowns, aided by a few days of endless severe thunderstorms. We occasionally have weeks like this, where there’s a new problem every day. This time we had tech equipment failures, electrical issues in the Manor House, we all got a stomach bug and then a bad storm blew over some trees and huge limbs. One of those trees crashed down and took the Casino power lines and phone line with it. It seemed like every day one of us was dragging ( or chainsawing) huge tree limbs off the road.
In our rural area the solution to problems such as these is not always straightforward and never happens quickly. It involves a lot of waiting around for the next step to happen. I find the best way to approach a week like this, is A) DON”T REACT WITH A LOT OF COMMENTARY and thoughts about what SHOULD happen. B) to ask yourself, “What is the next action needed here?” Out here, dealing w/downed power lines involves a negotiation w/the local power company. Our houses are too far away from the main poles and therefore they have no responsibility to deal with a problem like this. They did replace the power lines this time. The week before they refused to deal with the power lines at the Manor House. You never know. The point I’m making here is that entertaining a lot of internal negative commentary only makes the job harder. In the end you end up with a lot of stress. Then something else malfunctions and you say, “OMG what NOW!?!” Under stress many of us tend to lose our motivation and become discouraged.
So, next time you are in the midst of an extended set of challenges, try focusing without commentary on the next action needed….and the next and the next. It’s definitely one of our Ridgely sadhanas! And it works!! I’ve been doing this for 15 years and can attest to it! When Problem Solving