It is the little things

As I got off the phone with my sister Margot, she told me that it really is the little things that make a difference. I have to agree. Lately, I've noticed many little things that are touching. When I first got here to Boulder, I didn't know how to use the bus system. I went down to the stop and thought I could figure it out by looking at the map, but there were numbers and colors and places I didn't know....it was a nightmare to look at for the first time. But a man named Norman in a wheel chair started talking to me. He must have known that I looked a little lost. I told him that I was new to the area and that I needed to get to the main Naropa campus. He was so helpful and told me which two buses I needed. What a relief. So today, I was running out the door early to mail a couple of letters. The mail room doesn't open until 8. So at 7:45 I bought a house chai from the coffee shop next door and waited until it opened. Meanwhile, I knew the bus came at 8:10. I thought, Ok a little bit of a window but I will have to push. So I got in line first but I had to buy a small package, so they sent me back to the cashier of the Pharmaca (where the mail room is located) and then back to the mail desk. I must have looked impatient because the lady didn't seem that fond of me. I sent off my letters, grabbed my chai and ran out the door. As I was exiting, I saw the bus. My heart sank....It was about a block away on the other side of the street and I decided that I probably wouldn't make it. But I ran anyway. Breakfast peach jostling and chai a sloshing, I made a break for it. I came to the light and of course I can't get across. For some reason the bus was waiting at the stop a lot longer than usual. I said a prayer and as the bus was taking off, the light changed. This is when cross country came in handy. I sprinted yelling "WAIT WAIT!!" The poor man saw me and stopped the bus. Most of my chai seemed to puddle on the lid and my peach was definitely a nice mushy bruise. But I made it. I got on the bus and who did I see but Norman. It was Norman who helped with the delay because he is in a wheel chair and it takes sometime for the wheelchair accessible ramp to eject from the bus. Because Norman was there this morning, I was able to catch my bus. You know. Sometimes I think people like Norman are really angels in complete disguise. Riding around in wheelchairs, doing what they can to help poor innocent girls who are trying to make it in this world.

So it is the little things that make a difference.  Like the light tap on the arm in the movie theater to let you know that "I will be back." A walk with a friend around a neighborhood at night talking about giggly nonsense.  The study buddy that invites you over for dinner. The stranger on the street that directs you to the right location. Planning a birthday.
You know. It's funny. Because Buddhism stresses so much on suffering (dukha in sanskrit), I thought that we were doomed for suffering. That there was no hope for anyone. We were just trapped and that was it. Something has happened to me in the last week or so that has really impacted me. I have started to see everything as being quite fun. Now, I have a test tomorrow in Tibetan, it might change a bit for that hour. But really, life is one big heep of fun. I have started looking at life with more positivity. Yes it is suffering, and yes this world is not fair with sickness and death. But it is amazing what can happen when you start to let go. The more you hold onto things the heavier it gets, and the more burdensome. Lately, there is a lightness that wasn't there before. I think it allows one to feel more connected with reality. Oddly that is how it happens. FLip the coin to the positive and see where it goes.

So as I said, I have a Tibetan test tomorrow. SO the word of the day is་བླ་མ་(la ma which means guru)