I like the story below that was originally told by the Dahlia Lama. It’s a good one to remember whenever I think events in the world are conspiring against me.In fact, accepting problems as a natural fact of human existence can definitely help reduce agitation and negative emotion.
"One morning 2 men were driving to an important business meeting, and they were running late. On the way to the meeting they got a flat tire.
Needless to say, the passenger got really upset about this but he noticed the driver remained completely calm and undisturbed by the situation, and immediately just set about changing the tire.
As they were changing the tire, the passenger became more agitated, but the driver just kept working, still totally unflustered. So, finally the passenger couldn't help but ask, "We're going to be so late, how can you be so calm about this?" And almost cheerfully, the driver answered, "This is number 3!"
The passenger asked him to explain, and he said, "Many years ago, when I first started to drive, I read a statistic giving the average number of flat tires that motorists will have during their driving years. So, right then I just decided to expect my fair share of flat tires, which by the way still has not reached the average, and at the same time I realized that no matter when or where I got my blow-outs, I could be sure that when it happened it would never be convenient.
I figured that was just part of the normal costs of having the convenience of driving, like paying for gas or oil. So, this is just one of my fair share of flats, that's all." -story told by the Dalai Lama
