One Agreement of Four
Note: There is a “News & Updates” announcement after this “Opinion”.
Click here to jump to the update.
We do not like what we can not explain. This could be a result of nature or nuture (I have no idea), but I what I do know is that sometimes the “reason” or “explanation” makes no difference. Last Wednesday night, after a particularily good show, I walked out to discover what was left of my car…
No sooner had I taken this photo than the theories started to fly: It was vandals. They tried to steal the car and were spooked away. It was kids. It was an accident and they ran off. It was the glass company looking for another client. (Although I am suspicious that the repair company had the window in stock.)
The truth of the matter is that it could have just as easily been a comet (that woud have actually been really cool). The reason had no effect on the outcome (which was a replacement window and a couple of hours sitting in a waiting room). It is experiences like this that force me to try to remember the advice of Don Miguel Ruiz in his book “The Four Agreements”.
In this book, the second of the four agreements is “Don’t Take Anything Personally”. Whomever did whatever to my car had nothing to do with me (unless they didn’t like a joke or two), so becoming personally offended only serves to waste more of my time. Imagine a world where no one was offended because of the actions of others. Bar fights would be a thing of the past. So would most violence amongst humans. How many times has a person died because of a misinterpreted glance?
Sometimes this advice is hard to take, but it has served me well in the past… A couple of years back I was jumped (or maybe mugged - I’m not sure as they didn’t take anything) outside of a bar. So far as I know it was a random act of violence. Taking it personally would have left me with many unanswered questions, it would have left me searching for a reason which would never have arrived. Instead, I realized it wasn’t my problem but the problem of the anonymous pair that decided to cause me physical pain. (Some readers may realize that I turned that story in a stand-up comedy bit as well… might as well make the night worth a couple of fun minutes on stage.)
I guess the point of this post is to give you a challenge: the next time that you find yourself under attack or the victim of a random event beyond your control, try to realize that it has nothing to do with you. Whatever happens is more of an expression of the character of the instigator than it is an expression of who and what you are - don’t take it personally.
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The “News & Updates” part…
Last week’s appearance on CityTV’s “BT” (Breakfast Television) to promote Magically Delicious was a huge success. You can see my appearance on the program on the Vids/Pics page or by clicking here. (We are now less than a week from the premiere of the show featuring myself, Ryan Pilling, and Tyler Wilson working together to create never-before-seen magic. Get your tickets here.)
Some good also came of Wednesday night’s show… a friend managed to snap off some photos of me in action. They are currently in a Facebook photo album on my fan page, but you don’t need an account to take a look.
