Irritability is a different sort of energy than the burning singe
of anger or the shining light of joy. Irritability has a way of seeping into
every part of our day. It can certainly spark an angry outburst. It also can
act to eclipse joy. Irritability is often an expression of our sub-conscience,
that, when ignored, can become a behemoth. There is a beauty within the energy
of irritability. It is an opportunity to listen to ourselves, to explore the
language of the sub-conscience, to focus this energy productively.
The mind isn’t something we can just point to and know what
we’re looking at. We experience life through the entire set of lens’ that
compose the mind. There are elements of mind that make up conscious thought as
well as large elements that remain mostly obscured, sub-conscious thought.
Irritability begins in sub-conscious thought. Slowly, it seeps into our conscious
waking states, coloring our perspective and shading our awareness until it
breaks through into destructive states of mind.
There is a beauty within irritability. It’s the subtle
language of our sub-conscience. If we pay attention to it, we can take care of
it. If we ignore it, beauty becomes the beast of anger, resentment and
aversion. If we work with our irritability instead of simply ignoring it, we
really begin to listen to what our sub-conscience is trying to tell us. If we
do ignore it, usually the volume of irritability increases, infecting more of
our waking mental states.
There are so many pitfalls and whirlpools in the lands and waters
of irritability. When we begin to pay attention to our irritability, our attention
can act as fuel. This happens when our attention doesn’t explore below the
surface of irritability to find its source. Instead of ventilating the
irritability, it feeds it. Our attention must not simply be to focus on it; it
must have the intention to alleviate the underlying condition. Our attention
must be filled with compassion and understanding.
During a busy day, it can be difficult to find some space to
take care of our irritability. Physical exercise can be a highly useful tool.
This could be just walking around the office, the neighborhood or the house. Or,
it could be a trip to the gym or the park, anything where our mind focuses on
our well-being.
We could also read. This helps focus the mind externally,
but through use of our internal world of imagination and exploration. The
little books that fit in your pocket can be perfect in these moments, no matter
where we are. Writing can also be a focusing tool.
And, as always, we can simply focus on our breathing. Our
body is constantly breathing, and it doesn’t require us to go anywhere or do
anything. Breathing is such a powerful vessel for transformation. We just do anything
that helps to focus the mind first, and then focus the mind internally; this is
the objective. We must completely embrace the irritability, not try to control
it, but understand it instead. There’s so much that we’ve ignored, and it wants
to be heard; it deserves to be heard.
There are days where we need to take care of our
irritability from the moment we wake until the moment we go to sleep. These are
blessed days, very workable. The beauty of irritability is the opportunity to
focus on us, to take care of ourselves. Something within our sub-conscience is
trying to express itself. It’s saying “look at me, I’m here and I’m suffering.”
We can look at it, we can embrace it and we can do something about it. Our
irritability can wake us up, not wake up the beasts of anger, resentment and
aversion. We can do this, right here and right now.
When we’re irritable, it can be so easy to see the external
world as the source. Our irritation simply makes our senses prickly, more
sensitive. There are countless opportunities every day to lose it, but when we
feel listened to, appreciated and embraced we’re less likely to. This is what
we must begin to do for ourselves. We deserve it, and so does our irritability.
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