Living Elegantly in a World of Oblivions

While driving the other morning, I found myself behind a swerving vehicle. The man driving it was shaving.

Last night in my yoga class, I could not salute the sun effectively because two women next to me chatted nonstop.

To this day, I cringe when I recall a former boss telling me about her suffering from a disease only she, her significant other, and her gynecologist should know about.

I’m always amused, though, when someone assumes he knows my political or religious views and attempts to draw me into a conversation in order to express his own beliefs. Imagine his surprise if he knew where I stood on certain issues.

These are the oblivions – those in our society who, through their words and actions, show precious little consideration for the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of others. They’re the line-butters and traffic cutters. They’re the loud-talkers and reckless walkers. They’re the greatest violators of the “You didn’t ask, but I’m going to tell you, anyway” policy (not an official policy – just my personal one. You’re welcome to adopt it, if you’d like). The oblivions have permeated our world, and their numbers seem to grow considerably each day.

So how do those of us committed to excellent, elegant, and abundant living deal with them?

We don’t.

Say what?

Sure, we’d like to tell them how it is, to tell them to be quiet, and perhaps even knock a few upside their heads. We can’t, though, for we’d then run the risk of becoming one of them. Our only obligation is to remain focused on bringing good vibes into the world. What we offer to others does, in fact, come back to us.

We can, however, lead by example – to remain that calm force within the societal storm. Our elegance remains intact when we discover our joy, follow our passion, and simply let others ‘be’. Meditation and appealing to a higher power is important, too, as is gratitude for our blessings. It really is as simple as following the Golden Rule: treating others as we’d like to be treated.

http://www.newmanimage.info/With that said, I do recognize the difficulty of this sometimes. We can’t always keep our frustrations to ourselves. During those truly trying situations, those in which you’ve reached your limit and you feel your cool demeanor slipping away, a simple raised eyebrow works. Just ask the two women from my yoga class.