Anyone can turn it around

A couple weeks ago I was standing out on a cold evening in New York City waiting for a cab to come take me to a nightclub.  After about 5 minutes of waiting, I was picked up by a middle-eastern gentleman in his 30’s, and he was clearly angry.  Swear words left and right about how horrible New Yorkers were.  I knew my cab ride would only be about 10 minutes and there was a part of me that wanted to be silent and just move on with my life, but I also wanted to try and connect.

I asked the man what the issue was, and after some beating around the bush, he told me that he had just come from JFK airport without a customer.  For those that don’t know, this is basically $70 in lost fare, which is a fairly big deal.  I tried my best to commisserate and share in his frustration.  Over the course of that cab ride, what started as pure anger slowly shifted to inquiry.  He mentioned that he had read an article a while back which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he’d have more chances to give in his life.  I was really starting to enjoy being in the presence of this introspective man!  We continued talking about why giving is so beneficial both to giver and receiver and different ways to practice it. Read more

Stepping back from anger

When we find ourselves in an argument, we may feel like we are losing control of emotions that have taken on lives of their own. When we can become aware that this is happening, taking a deep breath can help Read more