If You Spot It, You Got It

There's this "rule" I've come to rely on that, when I first learned about it, really bummed me out. It says that, what I see in others is really in me. So all those resentments and judgments I have about others is really just an indicator of what needs to be healed within me. The good news is that if you are able to spot something positive or attractive in others, you've got it too!

So when I'm sitting back and judging you for rolling your eyes or showing disdain, I need to ask myself, "Where in my life am I impatient or intolerant?" I've come to realize that if I can look at the situation as a tool for identifying the traits I have that need to be addressed, it reduces the animosity I have toward you because you were actually an "awareness gift." I may not like the size of the gift, or the wrapping, but it is a gift nonetheless.

I think of it as my body having emotional "buttons" that people are able to just walk by and press; the result is always me "exploding." Now, if I just roll my eyes, it's a small button. If I want to smack you in the kneecaps with a bat, that would be a big button. However, they are all buttons in need of removing. I don't want to go through life giving you so much power over me. I've removed some buttons and it feels good to just let you be you and me be me.

I thought about all this because I was thinking of having tea with my "enemies." But when all is said and done, if the people I think are my enemies are really disguised gifts who bring me to a higher level of self awareness and peace, are they really "enemies?"