Lojong Slogan 16: Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation

This is part 16 of my series on Lojong, Buddhist mind training.Being mindful is quite easy when life is going smoothly, when there aren't any hiccups or any great excitement. When life is moving very quickly though, and we need to be 'on' all the time, it's easy to feel depleted and unable to give. When we meet obstacles in our path or we become engrossed in some exciting new challenge, it becomes more difficult to maintain our equilibrium and more difficult to make these experiences part of our meditative practice. In the gap between surprise and reaction, though, we have the opportunity to choose to meet this new experience with the compassion and awareness that the Lojong slogans are training us to use. Before reacting out of long formed habit, interrupt the momentum. Instead of meeting the experience with preconceived notions, self absorbed thinking or other programmed responses, consider this experience with fresh eyes and meet it with compassion, loving-kindess and full awareness. Every situation is another opportunity for growth and by continuing to practice the mind training as outlined throughout the lojong teachings, we become more experienced and better equipped to handle whatever unexpected challenge life has for us.