Dear Reader,

I’m writing to you from the Santa Barbara airport, where my flight to Denver has been delayed. I’m wearing Ugg boots and a down jacket (proud of myself for finally dressing for the weather) and sweating it out, crammed between disgruntled travelers trying to make connecting flights.

There’s a cute baby in the seat next to me who doesn’t seem fazed by any of this. She just wants her dad’s glasses from his face.

I’m reminded of what Gabby Reece said last week on the Wise Effort Show about how she walks down the streets of New York. She asks herself: How hard is it for me to make things just a tiny bit better for another person? And then she steps out of the way. That is excellence.

In Buddhism, there are three “marks of existence” that describe so well our daily experience of missed flights, curious babies, and people in our way:

• Impermanence: everything is unstable and won’t last.
• Dissatisfaction: there’s a persistent background itch or friction in our lives; even good things don’t deliver lasting satisfaction.
• No-self: we are not as separate as we would like to believe.

When Dan Harris interviewed me for 10% Happier, I told him about members of my sangha who shared what they were dreading about their day:

• Walking the dog
• Grading papers
• Cleaning out their dead father’s house

Ahh, the marks of existence.

And at the end of the interview (listen on Spotify or Apple Podcast), I share a walking meditation—one you can do in the airport if your flight gets canceled, or while walking your dog, or stepping into your home:

Yes (one step)
​Yes (next step)
​Thank you (next step)
​Thank you (next step)

How can you make this day just a tiny bit better for another person?
How can I make this day just a tiny bit better for myself?

That is Wise Effort.

Diana

Dr. Diana Hill Your Wise Effort Guide

P.S. Five hours later..flight is canceled. Headed home.

Yes
Yes
Thank you
Thank you

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