As the paths we travel along our journey awaken us to who we really are, we become aware that every detail of life has meaning and purpose - every step is a decision - every move is deliberate.....

Illusions

She was at her desk when one of her co-workers said something demeaning about her work, and she immediately got upset, felt defensive, and thought all day about how that person was wrong and how she would prove it to him.

At home, she discovered that her husband had left his dirty dishes in the sink and the garbage bin under the sink was overflowing, and she felt quite irritated by his lack of consideration. She thought about how wrong he was, and wondered why he couldn't just do the little things it would take to be more considerate.

As she was stewing in her anger over these two people who she felt had wronged her, she began to wonder what was going on in her mind - why did she have to be so frustrated, angry and irritated by these little comments and actions? 

The next day when she went to work she noticed other people also frustrated and stressed out and angry at different times in the day. She saw it in the faces of strangers on the street as well, and in the complaints of her friends as they chatted during their lunch break.

As she sat on the subway on her way home from work, her thoughts kept mulling over all the illusions of dissatisfaction she and many others seemed to be experiencing and she began to get an understanding of what was actually happening. She felt that everyone has a treasure that they need to protect - something that not everyone else can see, but what they felt was truly valuable and needed to be protected - an inner 'gem' - and when one person would interact with the other, even if the actions or conversations had nothing to do with their inner gem, each person would worry that the other was trying to attack their inner gem. Everything then became about guarding their gem, protecting it from attack, making sure it was safe. Her thought process took her to where she realized, obviously, that these gems didn't really exist - that people just imagined therm to be real, without even realizing that they were thinking that way. She became aware that it was all an illusion - an illusion that was making her unhappy.

She made a conscious decision on her journey home that evening that she would stop trying to protect an imaginary gem - stop trying to be right, to be seen as good and competent and smart and perfect - stop trying to see herself as a good person at all times. She would stop thinking that other people's words and actions had anything to do with who she knew herself to be. She would stop trying to protect her position and self-image.

And, along the paths of her life journey, after gently letting go of these illusions, she had become happier. She could now smile when someone else would start protecting their imaginary gem, and realize that their frustration or rudeness had nothing to do with her, but everything to do with what they were protecting. She now went about her day, focussing on and enjoying each moment, knowing that if she took good care of each moment her every tomorrow would have a vision of hope.