Whenever we get offended by a character flaw in another person, it usually means we ourselves have a similar problem. And if we can so easily excuse ourselves, why not then excuse another?

Getting angry at humans for being human is akin to getting angry at a river for flowing downhill. It is in the nature of humans to have flaws.

To get upset or resent such things is a waste of precious time.

And we have so little of that already. Would a little character flaw in another person distress you so much if you had a terminal disease?

Whether you realize it or not, we’re all suffering from the terminal disease of life.

No matter how young or old we are, we are all already in the process of dying.

So why distress yourself over that which you cannot control or be held responsible for?

Remember always, if a person or thing is distressing you, it is not the person, it is not the thing, that is distressing you. Can a person climb inside your head and make you feel bad or upset?

Rather, it is your judgement about the person or thing that is distressing you.

And right this minute, if you so choose, you can decide that whoever or whatever is bothering you isn’t so bad after all.

My father used to yell at me to turn down my loud rock music. “You’re killing me with that horrible crap!” he would claim.

But if loud rock music really was “horrible crap”, no one would ever purchase the music, or go to rock concerts. It was my father’s judgement about the music that was distressing him.

Let us never stop reminding ourselves – it’s up to me in this very moment whether or not I am happy, sad, or disturbed.

What I choose to focus on, and how I judge it, determines my state of mind.