This is optimal living daily episode 1282. What would Buddha do on Southwest Airlines by Allison Carman of Allison Carman dot com and just a molic happy Saturday Welcome to one of the only podcasts in the world where blogs and articles are narrated to you for free I simply read them to you and that's with permission from the authors today's post comes from Allison Carman She's an amazing blogs. Let's get right to it and start optimizing your life What would Buddha do on Southwest Airlines by Allison Carman of Allison Carman dot com The client of mine Jen recently took a flight from Florida to New York on Southwest Airlines for the first time Does the view I've flown with Southwest? No, there is no assigned seating But the airline does provide the option of paying an extra fee to get on the plane before other passengers to choose your own seat Jen shows not to take advantage of this policy and when she boarded for her seat her choices were limited Not only because other passengers had paid this early boarding fee But because they were saving seats for others who had not yet boarded Apparently one person in a group of those traveling had paid the fee and saved seats for others who had not paid Jen was Pretty annoyed by this and when she came back from her trip She asked me what I thought about it from a more spiritual perspective She said not wanting to pass a snap judgment I paused in maybe her Southwest Airlines experience reminded me of a story my friend Elizabeth shared with me one time And I told Jen the story Elizabeth was having lunch in New York City with her good friend Sharon Salzburg a well-known Buddhist teacher They were in a cafeteria-style restaurant where you wait in line to get your food and then hope to find a seat somewhere in the restaurant When my friend Elizabeth got in line with Sharon She saw how crowded the restaurant was so she told Sharon what she wanted to eat and suggested she find them seats while Sharon Wait in line and ordered Sharon replied if you sit down now before we get our food Where will everyone in front of us in the line sit Elizabeth became very quiet and realized for the first time how uncaring for others It was to sit before the people in front of her in line had a chance to find a seat She realized that she was focusing on her own needs and not the needs of others She thought about how society needs individuals to put others first in order to flourish Elizabeth is one of the nicest people that I know and she was not deliberately trying to prevent others from sitting down and enjoying a meal She was just thinking about her lunch day with Sharon and forgot to connect with the needs of other people in the restaurant as well Although at first glance the actions of some of the Southwest passengers are a little more aggressive than Elizabeth symbols The stories are actually quite similar like Elizabeth the people who were breaking the seating rules of Southwest Airlines probably didn't think they were rude or bad people They were simply putting their needs and desires first believing they could save money and still sit with their friends Not thinking about how it could affect anyone else in short They weren't acting in a way that fostered a more successful loving and kind society So what would Buddha do on Southwest Airlines?
He probably wouldn't ask a friend to pay a fee so he could get a better seat for free My suspect he would wait his turn be kind to the people in line in front of and behind him and be grateful He had a plane ride home to see his family I doubt he would worry much about the location of his seat He'd probably even bless the passengers who saved the seats for their friends Maybe he would meditate on the idea that one day all passengers could realize there were enough seats for everyone and learn to share or take their rightful turns But Buddha would know that if everyone chose love over the fear of not having something They would truly feel the joy of being alive He would understand that this joy was better than the joy of getting a better seat than a fellow human being How do these examples apply to all of us? Most of us take our turn when we merge in traffic Hold the elevator door for our neighbors and wait patiently in line with the bank or post office We may be thinking we'd never act like some of the Southwest passengers who try to bend the rules for their own gain But my friend Elizabeth once thought the same thing of herself Sometimes the way we tend to put ourselves first is invisible to us But maybe we can make the invisible visible to ourselves And in so doing contribute to a more caring and compassionate society Maybe we can stretch ourselves to look at areas in our lives where we move so quickly And are only thinking about what we need to do and where we need to go Maybe we can find an opportunity to be more kind and considerate to the ones around us On reflection I realize that while I would ever literally take someone else's seat on a plane or in a restaurant I do tend to grab a seat with a friend before I order us coffee in my favorite cafe Also I sometimes talk on my cell phone when I'm walking outside And I'm less considerate than I want to be to the ones around me I see too that when I am busy I'm less likely to stop and ask my neighbors how they are doing These are simply some examples from my own life But I'm sure we can all identify areas in our lives where we can slow down And be kinder to those around us Maybe it's just a matter of being more aware that we are all in this line or plane as the case may be together You just listened to the post titled What Would Buddha Do on Southwest Airlines by Allison Carman of Allison Carman.com I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health What supplements to take? Hours of sleep? What my diet should focus on?
Superpower finally takes the guessing out of it One simple lab test covers over 100 biomarkers And their app gives you a complete picture of your heart, liver, hormones, metabolism, even environmental toxins Plus it used to cost $499 right now, it's just $199 And head to superpower.com and use code old at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership Allison has such a great point in this one I'm sure we can all think of a time where we did something similar and could have been a bit more considerate Something to think about today, especially if you're having a busy day And Allison is a friend of the show always sharing it with our audience which means a lot Come back to her site to show her some support And if you'd spread the word about what I'm doing here with many of your friends or family Maybe coworkers, that would mean a lot Getting someone to subscribe for free in a podcast app is a great gift for both that person and me and the authors of our shows So thank you for doing that. Thank you for being here. I'll be back tomorrow where your optimal life. Oh wait