Whenever you’re striving for perfection, something usually goes wrong. As an example, King Charles of England was upset before the coronation ceremonies, because Prince William and his family were late. Which meant they couldn’t start the procession on time. According to the lip readers, Charles III got pretty upset and said “it’s always something.” He was right about that. And for a man who wants his shoe laces ironed, this was difficult to handle. The trouble is, there’s always a little glitch.
Supposing Prince Harry had spilled some coffee down the front of his morning coat and all over his beautiful white shirt. Since his outfit was provided by the French designer, Dior, I’m sure they were prepared for just such a glitch. You can bet they had a backup outfit waiting in the wings, just in case. On the other hand, queen Camilla had two ladies standing behind her as emergency backups. One was her sister, and the other, a body double. So if Camilla conked out for any reason, the other lady could take her place, and hopefully, most people wouldn’t know the difference. It pays to prepare ahead.
The trouble is, we common folk can’t always plan for a backup. What if a button comes off your blouse before a job interview? Or you get a flat tire on the way to pick up your child from daycare? There’s an old saying, whatever can go wrong, will. But instead of trying to be prepared for any emergency (back up blouse, spare tire) it’s probably best to train yourself to stay calm when things go wrong. This is so much easier said than done. Whenever my sister and I had a last minute clothing mishap, our mother would say, “It’ll never be seen on a galloping horse.”
It seems to me that the only way to get through the ups and downs in this life is by lessons learned through meditation. Note it, name it, deal with it. Say you’re angry, upset, nervous, or whatever negative emotion follows one of these little glitches. Observe those feelings, then take a few deep breaths. You may not be able to change things, but you can change the way you react to what’s gone wrong. After you’ve calmed down, you may come to the conclusion that the situation is far less catastrohpic than you thought. Did it matter if the Coronation procession was a few minutes late? Was it worth it for Charles III to get himself worked up about William and Kate not showing up on time? I would doubt if anyone in the crowd knew the difference.
Just remember, there’s always a little glitch.