What Frustrates Us Most

What frustrates us most is not the other, it is actually our distorted perception of the other that leads to conflicting emotions. When we perceive in another (either an individual, a group of individuals, a government, a nation or a planet) something we have decided that we do not like, we begin to experience internal conflict.

This conflict is a gift. The fruit of this gift is the opportunity to become more aware and to continue opening our hearts.

When we feel that another is responsible for our suffering, we have innocently gone into a dangerous trance. It is then that we must remember that only our misinterpretation can lead us to such a conclusion. This is when we should pause and investigate our beliefs to see what actually is going on.

For many of us this is a very difficult step. It can be so difficult that we might go into denial in order to avoid facing the difficulty of being fully responsible for our emotional state.

I have been frustrated for several years with my mother and my father. I have been persistently crafty in organizing a story where I am the victim of their ignorance. Every time I fall for this self-created illusion the only thing that ensues is psycho-emotional suffering. Such suffering is the precise alarm that reminds me to wake up and notice that I am out of balance and out of alignment with reality.

The truth is that all conflict and all peace exist within ourselves. The outside world is nothing less than our opportunity to discover the difference between what leads to peace and what leads to conflict. It all depends on our relationship with existence. Every time there is opposition, conflict occurs. Every time there is surrender, peace shines forth.

I am very aware that many of us may have a deep mistrust in surrender. We might be inclined to believe that unconditional surrender leads us to becoming a bunch of useless morons. If this turns out being the case for you, then true surrender has not happened. When one is disabled, it is due to opposition, not to surrender. When we fully surrender, we are totally empowered in the highest sense of the word. When we have truly surrendered we are flowing along with the Whole.

I invite you to explore the implications of total surrender -- as a hint, I can tell you that the evidence that you have truly surrendered is that you realize peace and gratitude, thus the vital energies flow easily through you (thereby empowering you). When you truly surrender... you are happy.