At my parents' house the television is turned on first thing in the morning, the channel most often set to a war movie or hunting show. I find this unsettling. At times I have interpreted it as a personal affront. In reality, everyone here is just trying to get their needs met. Their needs are probably very similar to my own. They simply have different strategies for meeting them.
I can choose to see the television as an opportunity to practice maintaining my tranquility and peace of mind in spite of my surroundings and circumstances. I read something about this once written by the Dalai Lama. He talked about how he maintains his own peace of mind in spite of the way his people have been treated by the Chinese government. He acknowledged that if he had a "regular" life there would likely be other, more mundane aspects of his life that would be unsettling. He said, "If I had a job, I would probably get fired."
So I ask myself, "What would the Dalai Lama do?" No doubt he would breath and allow compassion to settle on the situation. I'm not the Dalai Lama, but I'm trying.
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