Broken Phone, but Whole Self

So...my cell phone broke in half a few days ago.

Broke. In. Half.

How could that happen?

Did I flip it open and smash it over my knee in anger?

Did I leave it open on the floor and accidentally step on it?

Did I snap it half with my fingers to impress a girl with my super human strength?

No, I opened it like I have a thousand times, and it broke in half.

And at&t, unfortunately, could not help. Could not get me a replacement phone.

Now, I am not a person who has a blind hate of corporations and thinks that they are inherently evil.

I think there is way too much greed in a lot of people who work in the corporate world and even among those who run them; I believe that greed hurts all of those people, and a whole lot of others too as a result.

But, the basic idea of Capitalism: I love it. It's one of the many things that makes America, despite our flaws, a truly unique and amazing country.

At&t has done a great job in the marketplace and have thrived, and I can earnestly say more power to them.

Anyway, where I start to take issue with a corporation is in a situation like this. And, first, do note that if I had dropped my phone, been careless with it, etc, I would be happy to take responsibility. I've lost phones before, I've dropped them in rivers and pools, I have damaged them, and so, I never called at&t to complain.

It wasn't their fault those times...it was mine.

This time, it was their fault.

And they could do nothing to help me.

But, here's the thing:

Oh well.

I let it go.

I chose to let it stop bothering me.

What a powerful ability we have in THAT choice.

Truly.

A few of the things I've been working on over the last 3 months, along with my physical health, is my emotional/mental/spiritual health.

And of those issues, a few sub groups come into play in this issue: Anger, Resentment, and Forgiveness.

While it may not seem like much, the few hours spent on the phone with customer support that ended with injustice could have, probably WOULD have, made me extremely angry. It likely would've put me in a nasty funk for the rest of the day.

As time went on I would stew about the injustice, and resent what happened. Resent the company, the actually good service people that I spoke to, and all cell phone companies!

Resentment man, it eats at your soul.

It really does.

It gnaws away at you, and every foothold it gets in your psyche is one where happiness, serenity, and love cannot exist.

Instead, I chose to let it go. I had tried to do what I could, but had run out of options.

So, why let something that I can't change make me feel miserable?

I'm not going to waste my valuable energy on resentment.

I'm not going to waste my valuable time being angry.

I chose to forgive the company, and move on.

And here's the thing, I think that most people have moments like this frequently in life. Whether it's with a company or a friend, a boss or a spouse, whatever. No matter what it is specifically about, it boils down to:

1) A situation or conflict that doesn't go our way, and;

2) A choice we have to make: Do we let the outcome rule us?

Do we choose to go into a funk because of what happened?

Do we choose to steam and froth with anger all day because of it?

Do we choose to treat other people in our lives less kind, and with less love and respect as a result?

Do we choose to not work-out because of it? To slack off on our plan at dinner? To stuff our faces with comfort food?

Well, we never have to, because it is always OUR choice.

Always our choice.

How incredibly powerful we are.