Going with the Flow instead of Struggling Upstream

Do you ever have one of those days where things just go wrong, over and over again? No matter what you do... particularly if you're in a rush or have something urgent on your plate... the universe just does NOT cooperate. Yep... I'm having one of those days.

I'm sitting in Starbucks and trying to get some work done on my laptop. It worked fine yesterday and now today...

• the browser is freezing - not responding
• the internet is not connecting
• I tried another browser but that didn't work either
• I killed all the browsers and tried again
• Windows is running an update in the background (memory hog)
• the second browser returned a bug report that it wanted to send to Mozilla (memory hog)
• I tried my phone instead of Starbucks wifi - still clogged
• Norton (which really needs to be uninstalled) is slowing everything even more

Almost an hour later... I have nothing to show for more time here except a deeper furrow on my brow. I did bring a journal and wrote a bit of my frustration away but... sometimes I think the message from the universe is... slow down... go with the flow... be patient. None of which is something I really want to hear right now!!

I want to get some work done, darnit!!! Ugh... but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Because, honestly, struggling upstream against all of these computer delays is simply not good for me. And I am really not a great... go-with-the-flow type of gal. Unless, of course... the flow is going my way and then I'm zooming along quite happily.

It's when the universe has different plans from my own... and our plans are in direct opposition... that things go sideways. I think I should be doing X and the universe is making that very challenging! But perhaps the real message is... I shouldn't be doing X... but rather the exact opposite of X which is... Y?
But I don't want to do Y!!! I want to do X!! ... pouting face... Which is fine. I can be like that... but it's raising my blood pressure and making me frustrated and I'm getting mad with myself for not letting the computer do it's stupid updates overnight and... and... and... it's not pretty. So. Can I just take a deep breath and... allow the situation to just be the way it is. Can I just sit here and take another deep breath and murmur... "it's all ok". 

If I could do that, I think a lot of stress in my life would just slip away. Because... while I hate to admit it... this morning was very busy and I came to Starbucks in the early afternoon to take a breather and regroup and... slow down. Maybe the universe is wiser than I am. Or listens better than I do. Even though I come here looking to regroup after a tedious 5 hours spent on the computer... I immediately go back on the computer, ostensibly to write this blog... but it's still more of the rush-rush attitude. Deep breath.

OK... you wheedled it out of me... if truth really be told... I want a chocolate brownie!! And I don't have enough $$ in my Starbucks app and I need to load more $$ using the web app if I want to do a mobile order. Which I do... otherwise I have to get up and leave my computer behind (and out of sight) while I go to the cashier and put more money in the app and order it that way.

There... fine... I said it. And... the Starbucks we app is not opening!!! Argh!!! But I just figured out that I can do it on the phone app so I did. So there! Hmph.

But I think the lesson still stands. Sometimes we need to slow down, take a deep breath, stop... and just let the water flow around us. Rather than going against the flow... go with the flow... instead of muttering imprecations against the computer... I could have pulled out the greeting cards that I keep in my backpack for just such an eventuality and written a few cards. That way the computer can slog through whatever updates it needs to do without me interrupting it every few seconds with a new request, thereby prolonging the agony. One day... I will learn this lesson.