I had decided Thursday evening my blog would be on tolerance.   As my Friday morning ritual, I sat down at the computer to the searing pain of a “boil on my behind” (too much spin I guess).  As I revved up my computer an ugly Trojan (not the drug store kind) came storming into my computer and took it down like the city of Troy.

I have learned through many years of teaching, you must be careful what you espouse.  It is highly likely one will be given the opportunity to experience the lesson.  Boy did I have that opportunity for two days straight.  Every computer I touched seemed to stop functioning, every commitment others made to me was not kept, and annoying people seemed to stampede out of the word work.   If you were to ask those around me if I had practiced “Tolerance” perfectly during those two days the jury remains out in deliberation.

The truth is that tolerance is more about flexibility than “tolerating” the situation.  The Dalai Lama says it best “in the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher”.  Your enemy does not have to be a person. It can be a thing, a place, a feeling, lack of control, lack of understanding or simply not wanting to.

Practicing tolerance is like standing on the edge of the Caribbean ocean in Playa.  It is easy to see the vastness of the ocean and respect its power.  Rumi has said “in tolerance be as the sea”.  As I look out over the aqua blue waters of Playa, this quote takes awakens the depth of these simple words. 

The ocean is powerful yet warm and inviting to all who come here.  Do not mistake it’s tranquility for weakness.  In its expansiveness you can contemplate how to aspire in your own unlimited mind how to wash over any situation, person or thing.   When something or someone bothers us, a natural inclination is to move away from or get rid of that person or thing.  The waves of the ocean constantly flow forward and gently rocking back into itself.  Our voyage of life can be as the ocean, constant, powerful.

The true lesson is tolerance is not about other people or things; it is about being tolerant with yourself.  Seeing your reactions, acknowledging them and trusting they are a signal of something to know about yourself.  Why are you reacting to a person, thing or situation in a way which does not serve you?  Bless the moment and trust that you are as strong as the ocean.  In Rumi’s final quote of his seven advices:

“Either appear as you are, or be as you look.”