We all have our "issues."  (Yes, even therapists...)  And we are all affected by them, even when we aren't aware of it.  Many of us are able to go on with our lives, oblivious to why we get upset about little things that in the bigger picture don't matter, or things we have no control over.  Or some of us get upset but it's brief and gone as quickly as it came.  Have you stopped to think about the things that annoy you more than they should?  Have you given thought to finding out why the little things bother you?  Are they interfering with you life - driving people away, causing you to avoid certain situations that you might enjoy socially or professionally? 

I had an issue with driving.  Every time I got behind the wheel, I would get tense and I just wanted to get to where I was going and get off the road.  I would get very stressed out by other drivers - like "What don't you understand about the concept of turn signal?"  You know, they driver who just sort of meanders all over the road, drifting into your lane without bothering to look to see if anyone is there and you either have to veer out of the way (into another lane) or brake hard. My list goes on and on, but I won't bore you with that. 

I think we are all aware of an increase in road rage.  It's gotten so that I'm afraid to honk at someone because you never know who might pull out a gun these days.  I was coming home one night, and turning left on a left turn only arrow.  The on-coming traffic had a "No right turn" red arrow, and at this particular intersection, drivers often ignored their red arrow.  One night a car turned right as I was turning left, and he turned into my lane, so I honked.  At the next light, which happened to be red, the driver caught up to me, rolled down his window and shouted something not so nice and spit on my car.  My old mantra, "Ignore them...." played in my head and I didn't not look at him. As I drove up the road towards home, he fell in behind me and followed me, to the point that I pulled to the right and went very slow so he passed me.  I didn't want him seeing where I live; it really scared me. 

But back to my main point.  I was having such issues with becoming stressed out driving, that I said out loud one day that I really need to work on this; it wasn't healthy getting so upset every time I got in the car.  I can't control what other drives do.  I knew this in my mind, but another part of me just didn't like it.  So one day my daughter my daughter called and said "I have a metaphor for your driving issue.  Instead of being a little fish trying to swim upstream against the current, darting in and out between the bigger fish swimming downstream, you should be a leaf."  "So," I said,  "I should let the current carry me."  "Right" she answered.  So I asked, "What about if I get stuck on a boulder?  What then?" and she wisely answered that "A leaf waits for the current to come along and pick it up and carry it on the current again."  I thought this was very Zen.  ("Be the leaf...")  So I put a sticker of a leaf on my dashboard, and whenever I feel the stress starting up, I look at the leaf, take a deep breath and let go of trying to control what I can't control.  I share this with my clients when appropriate, and now I am sharing it with you.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I appreciate your comments.