Latest / Forged In The Dark / The Splash Zone
Transcript
- Forged In The Dark: If you have been around a while or know me in real life, you know how much I love storytelling. You also know that I have a lot of stories from horrific to don't wet yourself hilarious. And this last week of my life is no exception. I actually found it challenging to choose which stories I was going to share this week, which concepts we were going to dig into. So today it's the splash zone, what's in your cup, and what happens when you get bumped. Welcome to Forged in the Dark. I'm your host, Jamie. Let's dig in. Now, this last week really was full. my a couple of my girlfriends and I, we would talk and we would be like, Well, it is eclipse season. And whether it has anything to do with eclipse season or not, today's story is just too good not to share. My friend Jessica Cherry, ladies, lifestyle network haze, howdy social. Life of a cherry wife and more. She she has monthly events, and these events come with a panel of speakers, and and she always fills the room. So it's always my pleasure to be able to show up and support her in any way possible, whether I am hostess or a hype girl. And this last week I was a hype girl. Now I did happen to fill in some gaps at the hostess station only because I know the job well. But I worked most of the event. And when I saw an opportunity to grab some water and sit down, I took it. Or at least I thought that's what was going to happen. Now there was one chair and it was for me and and and I had my water in my hand and as I it was a tall chair, so as I was getting myself up into the chair, the cup slipped right at right through my hand, like right through my fingers, right out of my hand. Now I must have been a ninja or a samurai in a past life. Because in these situations my reflexes kick in. And as much as I tried to catch the cup, my ninja skills still weren't enough. But what happened is I got my hand in a place that I tipped the cup back towards me. Now let me set the stage. or or give you the the the layout of the room. While this is happening. There are three speakers and the host on stage. The lights are are are sort of dim. everyone is fully engaged in the speakers. So my fingers tip the bottom of the cup and it comes back towards me. Now, it was just water. And the water hit my chest, went all down my dress. I took the biggest blow. But what no one around me could have known is they were in the splash zone. I mean, think about it. You go to SeaWorld, you go to Legoland, you go to to Disney, to any of these theme parks. And and there are areas that say splash zone. And and especially the kids can't wait to get to the splash zone. But what happens when you're an adult and you don't know you're in the splash zone? Now I don't want to get too off track here because this story really is so good, and there's such a big, profound lesson here. So these ladies, yes, were unknowingly in the splash zone. And yes, I took the biggest hit. But as I looked around, there were the ladies that were the closest to me, they were kind of laughing with me. They they found the few little sprays or the few little drops of water that made it to their faces refreshing in a hot room. But there was a woman that was below me. And okay, so maybe she did get a few more water drops than the rest, but she was. angry like as as soon as this happened i mean i didn't even register that my dress was dripping with water i ran straight to the bathroom got paper paper towels as discreetly as i could kneeled down beside her handed her the towels and was mouthing my goodness i'm so sorry i'm so sorry and she was livid she was so angry it was like looking at a fire breathing dragon she wanted She wanted to take me out in that moment. So I handed her the paper towels and I left. And this makes me think of a story that I first heard in yoga teacher training years and years ago. Now this story has become much more popular since, so you might actually be familiar with it. But imagine yourself morning, afternoon, evening. You have a full cup. Now, the way the story goes is there's kombucha in your cup, but put whatever in your cup you normally drink. So you're walking along, full cup of kombucha, tea, water, whatever. And you get and someone bumps into you. And next thing you know, there's kombucha. There, it's all over you. It's it's down your shirt, it's on the floor, it's on your pants. Why is there kombucha all over you? Now, most people, the automatic response to this question, to this story, is because you bumped me. Jamie, I was minding my own business, walking along, and now I'm covered in kombucha. Well, The reason you are covered in kombucha is because there was kombucha in your cup. Whatever is in your cup is going to spill when you get bumped. If there is anger, resentment, insecurity, anxiety, lack in your cup, when life bumps you, that's what's going to spill out. If there's if there is joy and peace and compassion and empathy in your cup, that's what's going to spill out when you get bumped. Because here's the thing. ladies and gentlemen, we all get bumped in life. We all get bumped. The the the disappointment in in your partner, whether it's personal or relationships. We all are disappointed by people in our lives sometimes. When that disappointment comes, what is your knee-jerk reaction? What is your automatic response? Because that is showing you what's in your cup. When you get cut off in traffic, you get bumped. Life is going to bump us. It's something we can expect. And and and when We react that shows us what's in our cup when we respond that shows us what's in our cup. Now, back to the event, back to the story. Because by the end of the event, I was making my way back to the woman that I that that was in the splash zone that was unhappy with me. And she was on her way to find me. We we kind of met in the middle. And and I I said, my most sincere apologies. And she said, No, you don't owe me an apology. You already apologized. I am so sorry that I was so angry with you. I know you felt it. And I understand it was just water. And in that moment, I just couldn't process anything but anger. And and I I ultimately thanked her. And we came to the conclusion that those seats, if she ever, if if she ever comes to this spot again and chooses those seats, she is going to know that she is in the splash zone. But I just couldn't help but think. Like this is this is the kombucha story. This woman had a few drops of water it land on her unexpected, and her automatic response, her knee-jerk reaction to the bump was pure anger. That is what's in her cup. Now, given just enough space. To process what actually happened, she did come to the conclusion that there may have been an overreaction with all that anger. But because she had the space to process, she came to that conclusion. It still doesn't change the fact that life is going to bump us. I mean, here you are. Is sitting in in the middle of a perfectly lovely event and and you have some sprays of water land on you. How do you react in real time? Or do you respond? I I have a friend, and and he always asks me, Jamie, why are you laughing at this? Like I will be telling him a story of something going on, and he says, Why are you laughing at this? And I say, Because it's ridiculous. What am I going to do with this ridiculous situation other than laugh? I'm not going to get angry. I'm not going to get mad. I'm not going to spin out. I'm not going to react. I am going to laugh. And I know that not every situation, you can't use this in every situation. You can't laugh at everything. But if you got sprayed with water in the middle of an e an event, what would you do? Think about it. I I was I was I was soaked. My dress was dripping. And I was just worried about the people around me. My dress dried before the end of the event. And everything turned out just fine. I I I I I felt bad, but then I laughed. Do you react or respond? What is in your cup? What happens when you get bumped shows you what's there. That's it. Whether it's positive or negative, good or bad, it shows you what's there. And in Every situation there's a lesson. This situation turned out just fine. And luckily it was just water and everybody learned what they needed to learn. But what can you learn about yourself from this? Okay, that's what I have for you today. Until next time.