I try to use the Calm meditation app every day.

If you’ve attempted meditating, you know why I said: “try to.” Life’s already jam-packed, and there’s so much to do, finding 10 minutes to sit and be still is usually the first thing I scrap when I’m low on time.

After more than a year of steady commitment to meditation, I’m still finding my way.

Although, I’m now beginning to enjoy the journey. Being able to find my breath and ground myself in times of chaos or becoming a spectator to my thoughts are two of my favorite additions to my mental toolbelt.

Though today, I am reminded of another appreciation I have, and that’s for Calm’s “Daily Calm” feature. At the end of each 10-minute “Daily Calm” meditation, there’s an inspiring and thought-provoking story that the narrator, Tamara, includes at the end. Here is today’s story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if life went exactly as we wish.

If everyone did exactly as we wanted, and there was no traffic or loud construction, and the weather was always perfect. Unfortunately, rare is the day when we experience zero conflict. So in order to find peace, it’s important to become *flexible* to our circumstances.

I’ll share a brief story that speaks to this effort.

Early one morning, an intrepid traveler walked down a long and dusty road. Before long, he came upon a shepherd tending to his flock. The traveler asked, “What kind of weather are we going to have today?” The shepherd answered, “The kind of weather I like.” The traveler asked, “But how do you know it will be the kind of weather you like?” The shepherd answered,” Having found out sir that I cannot always get what I like, I have learned to always like what I get. So I am quite sure we will have the kind of weather I like.”

The shepherd shows to be open and flexible to what life gives him. By accepting what he couldn’t change, he practiced nonresistance. It was as though his personal mantra is “Right now, it’s like this.”

So the next time life throws you a curve ball and you wake up to noisy construction, or it rains on the day you’ve planned an outdoor bash. Try calling on that phrase, “Right now, it’s like this.” Do your best to bring a spirit of nonresistance to the situations you can’t change and challenge yourself to accept what is.

In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longboat, “The best thing you can do when it rains is let it rain.”