I was sitting on one of the plastic chairs by the side of the river the other day basking in the peacefulness of the water, sunlight and sounds of birds.   I heard someone approaching on the path behind and above me who was talking very loudly on her cell phone.  I felt somewhat annoyed that she was interrupting the quiet and not being mindful of how she might be impacting others.  As she continued on, her voice trailed off until I could no longer hear her.

I thought to myself, I could just let this entire experience go and not give it another thought, or I could create some drama with it and continue to entertain thoughts like “how inappropriate of her” or “what is she thinking?” or “she doesn’t need a phone she talks so loud”.   Another option would be to store the event away in my memory to bring up later and tell someone about her behaviour and how it affected me.

Sound familiar?  We all do this from time to time.  Unwilling to let ‘life go by’ we make something of it by giving the event even more thinking and energy.   Having free will, we have the option to judge, condemn, be annoyed, insulted or hurt, or we can move on with life.

It really is up to you.  You can let it go, or hang on, take it personal and ‘make something of it’: “it was awful”, “how dare he/she”, “they should know better”. Next time you notice something that in the past would have angered, annoyed or disappointed you, remember you have a choice.  You could consider whether you want to continue to play out the scenario in your mind, or let it go and be available for other experiences, including really pleasant ones that come along instead.