The weekend at the beach was perhaps the best time I ever had there. The weather was perfect, the water temperature was 70 degrees warm, the surf was amazing–strong and forceful and foamy.
Our place was just “eh” but it was 100 steps from the beach and tucked away behind Rehoboth’s only Juice Bar, so I just walked down the steps to get my juice every morning: carrot, apple, ginger. Yum.
In the evening I had a blast dancing to great music and met a great crowd of very fun people.
All the beach rituals were observed: sunrise, Starbucks Triple Venti soy lattes meditation, yoga in the afternoon, and dancing at the bar at night.
The beach was its typical “Where’s Waldo” crush of beach towels, umbrellas and dysfunctional families and I loved it all. Jack Kornfield’s A Path With Heart was my book of the weekend, and at one point he suggested trying this exercise:
Imagine that everyone you see and encounter is enlightened–everyone except YOU. And all those people are buddhas, there to teach you something you need to know. That would have included, for me, the crying babies, the whining kids, the sullen teens, the overbearing parents, and especially the people with no sense of personal space and boundaries. All of them were buddhas, all of them were enlightened!
It was a great exercise for me because instead of getting peeved at some petty, trivial behavior, I had to adjust my normal, “Oh you are such an A-Hole judgment and think instead: Oh, rude little whipper-snapper, you’re just trying to teach me patience, or, you badly parented little kid having a tantrum, you’re trying to teach me compassion and acceptance.
Try it sometime. It’s a very cool exercise. Everybody is Enlightened but you.
Inspiration Location 
What an interesting way of looking at a situation. I think I will try it! Just the positive spin I am looking for! Thanks!
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