Taking the One Seat

Nearly a year ago, I wrote about the one seat. Now, as I'm looking at the earth spinning again, I'm reminded of that piece. Let's account for the things that have happened here in the past few weeks:

• Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine.
• Gas prices here on the Gulf Coast have reached record highs at over $4 per gallon.
• I've been told that I won't have a position with my current employer after this academic year.

None of this is in my control. I have no influence over global events. I cannot stop the march of inflation and the collusion of OPEC. I cannot guarantee that I will always be employed.

Not everything is in my control.

What is in my control? Well, today, at this moment, I can take the one seat. I can go deeper into my meditation practice. I can focus on this moment. What is it like to be at this unique vertex in space and time?

It doesn't always feel good. Sometimes, the one seat can be painful and frustrating. This doesn't, however, mean that it isn't good. Feeling good and being good are two different things.

When we take the one seat, we lean into this, and we say, "This is enough." We say, "Life is not something happening to me. Life is happening because of me." We take a little bit of control and responsibility for what's going on.

The world continues to spin, and we hurtle through space, borne upon its surface. The universe never promised us control, but the one seat lets us take stock of what we have.