Goodness knows that a health care professional’s greatest area of struggle comes in the heat of the moment.

At times, in my life anyway, the stress has mounted to the point where I wasn’t sure I could even make it through my shift.

I remember one year, it was the day after Labor Day, and our pharmacy filled more than double the amount of prescriptions that we were used to filling and it felt like I was working smack dab in the middle of the expressway.

At one point, a customer actually called me on her cellphone from the checkout line and began screaming about how long she had to wait.

I hadn’t eaten for six or seven hours and I had to go to the bathroom so badly that I was sure that I was going to have an accident.

I didn’t know whether to laugh, scream, cry, or have a panic attack.

The only thing that I did know for sure, was that my team was counting on me to hold it together.

I was in charge, and if I fell apart, everything would fall apart.

So I did the only thing I could do, I closed my eyes and headed off to the mountains of Tibet!

I had learned from my experience writing books that sometimes even though we want to head off to a cabin in the woods, or a cabana on the beach, and write our memoirs, it won’t get done unless we create our own personal retreat right where we are.

I planted my feet shoulder width apart, and took three really deep, really slow breaths through my nose while imagining myself sitting on a mountain with a group of monks beside me and I immediately felt better.

The entire time I was breathing (maybe 90 seconds), the entire world seemed to disappear.

I immediately made sure that the lady who had called to complain was serviced and satisfied so as to clear the air of her negative energy, and then I took care of my nutritional needs and Mother Nature’s demands.

The rest of the day was busy, but I felt in control.

Connecting with my inner monk, and knowing that was always an option, really seemed to give me more confidence and a great sense of inner peace.

After work, I reflected on my impromptu meditation, and I began to realize that life isn’t so much what happens to us, but how we explain to ourselves our ability to be in or out of control.

If you would like to learn more about how to center yourself in the midst of chaos, please click the image below and let’s have a conversation!