Questions and Answers

These days there's no reason not to have the answers. Google for it.. find it online. Parties take on a whole new direction - "Who was that guy in the movie?" "Well, I have an IMDB app on my phone, so I'll check it out."

Whenever anyone has a question, we can get an answer. Even at work, that's my job. If I don't have an answer, I'll find a way to get that answer.

Recently my daughter had a stomach problem. First we figured it was bad food at a catered event or maybe it was 2-day stomach virus. She was fine for a few days, but then woke up with strong stomach pains. It was a surprise! We ran out of explanations. I didn't know what the problem was and it was frustrating. My mind rushed through every situation and imagining the worst. We were able to see the doctor the same morning and learned that she simply needed to make some dietary changes.

However, this incident made me realize how frustrating it is not to have the answers. As a parent, we think we should have all the answers. Our children look to us for that information. Actually the highest expectation come from ourselves. However, I can't know everything or do everything. I never got a medical degree before I became a mother (nor the degrees for teaching music, math, Hindi, nutrition, classical dance and child psychiatry to name a few missing skills). For the few hours between the stomach pains and the doctor's appointment, I had to tell myself to be patient.

But, it's not so much as to being patient, but having the trust and faith that the answers will come. This idea can be applied to any situation where we feel frustrated and feel the pressure on us.  I see this at work all the time where the loudest and most frustrated people are the ones without the information. Once they know what's going to happen, they feel more in control and can manage what they need to do. Most of the pressure comes from what we do to ourselves, not the external entity. We really have to let go of the pressure and just float for a little while, untethered to our worries. Of course this is easier said than done. I suppose if we practice a little bit every day we would be better able to handle these situations.