Have you ever let something you later realized was entirely inconsequential irritate you?...over the past few weeks, I have been noticing this behavior...in myself...in others...
I decided to examine the relationship I have been having with irritation...a decision that came about because of a coaster I have on my desk...it attributes a quote to Audrey Hepburn..."Paris is always a good idea"...it's there as a reminder to me...of my visit to the City of Light...I smile each time I see it...
Someone who visited...and noticed it...remarked that is was "such a snobby thing to say"...the person went on to criticize the quote...Audrey Hepburn...people who are arrogant...she was clearly upset by it...in a way that seemed extreme...
And by the time she was done, I noticed I was irritated too...just not with the quote...
This reaction caused me to consider the things I allow to upset me...to notice...over the next few days...the meanings I have been assigning to people, places and things...the meanings I have given them that have resulted in feeling irritated...
As each feeling of irritation arose, I used my friend Holly's "catch and release" method...to allow the feeling to pass through me...to allow the energy to be cleansed...to allow it back into the universe to be recycled...for another...hopefully higher...purpose...
In the process of practicing this, I was reminded of the first time I became aware of the idea that something has only the meaning I give it...I was young...in my twenties...reading the newly published book entitled A Course in Miracles...I didn't really understand it then...
And now?...indeed it is miraculous...when I choose to assign only the meanings that feel neutral or better...and catch and release everything else...
Thanks again, Holly...
Coaster that caused my recent self-examination...