Have you been that person?

You know that person in the grocery store or on the road who just seems oblivious to anything happening around them, in their own little world, in a hurry, impatient, angry, aggravated or entitled like it's all about them and they just don't give a shit about you or the rest of the world?

Have you ever been that person? I have. I have been that person...feeling entitled or arrogant, impatient or irritated, in my own little world, completely unconcerned about the reality of others, worried, anxious, unhappy, or angry with life.

We all slip into that place sometimes. It's not personal, but when we carry our mess to others who don't deserve it, it likely feels personal to them. And sometimes we can't take it back once we've put it out there.

So what do we do?

Dumping our negativity on those around us is like shooting an arrow with a poison tip at them. Directing our shit to something alive leaves a scar, even if we can't see it. It's an energy hit that no one deserves. It's heaviness that doesn't belong to them. It's ours to deal with inside.

To minimize the poison arrows we inflict on others, we can move forward with greater attention to the times when our inner mess wants to rear its ugly toxic head. Then we can redirect it away from things that it can hurt—like people, pets and anything else that's alive—before we throw it out there. We can bitch if we need to, to release the heavy energy we feel because that's helpful. But when we do our bitching, we can mindfully do so to an empty space where it doesn't harm anything.

At our core, humans are tender and easily hurt. We carry a long history of pain behind us and life is stressful. So it doesn't take much to tip that bucket and spill some of that shit out.

One thing seems clear. The struggles we experience in life are usually about our own inner shit, rather than anything anyone else said or did, even if we can trace our hurt back to someone or something specific. Spirituality teaches us that our shit is never about the people or things outside of us. They are just the catalyst that points us to the wounds we hold that are asking for healing.

We aren't saints and we have a good deal of maturing to do. If we want to manifest a state of bliss in life, our task it to pray, heal, forgive and clean ourselves inside as best as we can with whatever spiritual tools we have access to. It's a life-long journey of the soul to reach a state of inner bliss and unadulterated loving, yet we can imagine it's well worth the journey—a Garden of Eden right here on Earth.

Remember if we change nothing, nothing changes.