My little brother was excited because he finally got to travel for work. Yes, it was in some hick town. Yes, it was at a rundown Howard Johnson and yes he had to share the room with some crazy co-worker named Ross. But Jay didn’t care – he was going on vacation!

He finally arrived at his destination and was handed the key to his room. Correction, he was handed the card to his room. So he walks up to room 205 and spends over 10 minutes trying to get that stupid card to work. In Jay’s defense, no one actually likes those cards – they never work and get lost in your wallet. Jay’s frustration grew as he began to curse at the door, but luckily for Jay the scene he was making, over his inability to enter his room, got the attention of the cleaning lady.

The cleaning lady took her master key out and without any struggle let Jay in.

Jay entered, threw his bag on the bed and proceeded to take a shower.

Feeling much better after his shower, he began to snoop to see what his co-worker brought for their weekend away.

As he rummaged, Jay was shocked to see the amount of luggage Ross brought on his trip- a black silk robe, slippers, two bags of toiletries, a couple pairs of shoes and Crest White Strips. Jay picked up the White Strips and was totally confused. Ross doesn’t even have any teeth, what would he need teeth whitener for?

Now that he had stopped for a moment, he started to find all the belongings a little odd. Silk robe? Ross is 300 lbs and that robe would not cover such a manly body. Jay started to realize why he may have been having so much trouble getting into this room. He dropped the White Strips and his freshly used towel, threw on his clothes and darted out of the room.

As he walked down the hall of the second floor, Jay reached into his back pocket and pulled out his card – In big black writing the card says 502.

Shit, if Jay only payed attention to the clear numbers on the card in the first place.

Forgetting to pay attention happens to the best of us.

Luckily for Jay, the occupants of room 205 did not pay attention either. They did not question the steam filled bathroom, the used towels and the pair of underwear Jay swears he left behind.

The Yoga Sutras say “enjoyment is the sweetness of noticing your life right now – smell, taste, feeling, sensation.” This is why the greater point to spiritual practice is simply to drop in, tune in and PAY ATTENTION.

Peace, peace, peace

NAT