How To Stop Feeling Annoyed

Oh, How This Synchronicity Wowed Me!

Do you ever have days when you just feel IRRITATED — BY — EVERYTHING?  Like everyone on the planet is conspiring to annoy you?

You go, sit with your cuppa tea, dog at your feet, and breathe.  (Not that this is me I’m writing about — heavens no!)

But the cuppa doesn’t help.  The breathing doesn’t help.  Okay, stroking the dog gently with my foot does help….  So I stroke some more.  I feel her warmth.  Her peace.  I rest my foot lightly on her torso, observing the rise and fall with each inhale and exhale.  Before I know it, my breath is aligned with hers.  I shut my eyes and smile.

Grateful.  Grateful.

Except, I never got to the bottom of the annoying feeling.  There was no pinpointing as to why it was there.  My guess is that some therapist would tell me the feeling would come back shortly because I didn’t identify the root cause and address it.

Perhaps.

Probably.

But what if life doesn’t have to be that complicated?  What if I’m simply dehydrated?  Or hormonal?  Or had poor sleep last night?  Or my ponytail is too tight and I just haven’t realized it yet?

Stroking the dog, aligning my breathing, those things help to calm my Being and put me in the right space to be grateful.

Pause….  At this point, I should tell you that the original title of this post was, “How to Self Soothe When You’re Feeling Irked.”  But I got here, to this point in writing, and noticed that my usual Grateful Practice wasn’t working.  So I continued to explore….

Taking it a step deeper.

Let’s say mere minutes after offering gratitude, your smile begins to fade, and annoyance sets back in.  You think, Damn, didn’t I just get rid of that?!

Hmm… this time you wonder, What’s at the root of this?  You remember a conversation with your spouse or the lack of conversation with a friend.  You recall a co-worker who not so gently gave you feedback (in your mind, code for criticized you).

If you’re anything like me, it’s typically not one event that causes this stir, but lots of little ones that have piled on top of each other, making the pinpointing even harder to identify.

Around this time, you look down on your desk and see this stone your mother-in-law gave you.  It sits to the left of your laptop as you work.

Yes, it has a nice, bright word on it, but more than the word, is the stone itself.  It shines so much it’s almost glossy.  Your brain itches with the trigger of the stone, the words shiny, glossy….

That’s it!  Polished!!

All at once your brain connected the dots and you remember Rumi’s words (because he’s one of your favorites!):

With the Laws of Synchronicity dancing around my head, here is the rest of my true story, unfolding real time.

Current Day & Time:  Tuesday morning, 6:06 AM (I’m writing this  post for tomorrow).

Reading Rumi’s quote, over and over, thinking how I’d like to conclude this post, I am struck by how the quote came to me, how the brain** works.

First, I was writing about feeling annoyed.  I thought gratitude had fixed it (it usually does).  Then the feeling reappeared.  I looked down and saw a stone.  Its shiny and glossy appearance reminded me of the word, “polished”.  Which triggered my brain to Rumi’s quote.  And with his words, there really isn’t much more to say.  That did it for me.  I don’t feel annoyed anymore.  I see.

(But I still need an ending to this post.  And a new title to go along with the shift I’ve taken.)

The peace I felt after reading Rumi’s words soothed me, reminding me in very simple words why we are sometimes irritated.  But how could I end my article like that?  Sure, those words did it for me (in this instance), but I’m here to share stories that I think will also help you.  And what if that just doesn’t cut it for you?

Feeling stuck, I distract myself by checking email.  Not because I want to, but because I feel drawn to.  (I rarely check my email when I’m in the middle of writing.)

I read the following comment from a reader, which was sent six minutes ago:

“Well that’s right on the mark, exactly what I needed today. I think I’ll go find a nice stone to put on my desk today. Love Nadia”

(Just to be clear, I’m writing this post, tomorrow’s post, in Pages, Apple’s version of Word;  this article has NOT been posted at the time I’m reading Nadia’s comment.)

You know that little feeling when your heart skips a beat?  Mine did that.

How did she know just minutes ago I wrote about a stone?  On my desk?!

And now she’s going to find a stone.  And put it on her desk.

While I was sorting out what had happened: that she was commenting on my most recent post about Stone Stepping, I couldn’t help but wonder:

Why had this synchronicity occurred?  She didn’t say rock, she said, “stone”.   She didn’t say she’d keep it on her vanity, in her car, or in her purse — she’d put it on her desk.  The wording and circumstances are much too EXACT for me to shrug them aside.

And I now see the bigger picture.

**It wasn’t my brain at work, as I formerly stated, it was something much, much larger.  It was how the Universe, how the Divine within each one of us “works,” that aligned all of these dots in order to teach me there’s something bigger than being annoyed or not being annoyed, and yes, that something is Trust.

Trust was the foundation holding everything together:  the stone, leading to Rumi, his words being the ones where I ‘got it’, Nadia’s comment mirroring back what I had just written — all reinforcing that without even making a conscious effort to Trust, I do, and therefore, Bam!  It all came together, annoying feeling gone, with the reinforcers of the Universe surrounding me.

At this point, I’ve gotta tell you, I’m laughing out loud as I type.  Can you imagine what an odd sensation this is to me?  To be writing and not know what words I’m going to type next?  To not follow tried and true writing techniques?  To ditch my subject, my title, and go with what the Universe is presenting to me real time instead?

And why would I ignore such a lesson, a blessing, a gift?

I wouldn’t.

I share this gift with you now:  Look, see, be aware, embrace.  Trust.

 

Thank you, Nadia, for sharing your comment and this gift with me.

And thank you, TLT readers, for sharing this post with others.  Lessons and gifts, man, I love this stuff!  Love, Leslie