I was recently thinking about how easily many of us in our culture get offended. We get offended by what people say, things on TV, opposing political opinions, noise, music, traffic, weather, our family, different view points, and so much more. Most of us are convinced that we are right and that people who don’t see it our way are wrong, or at least “misguided.”

While I often aspire to be as open minded, accepting, and easy-going as possible, the truth is that I can get as easily offended as anyone I know. Many of my opinions about life, others, and “the way things should be” are incredibly self-righteous. And, I know I am not alone in this. Can you relate?

However, what if we became really hard to offend. This is not to say that we abandon our values or opinions, it is more about choosing to allow other people and things be as they are. We take so many things personally that have nothing to do with us. The more we react to something, the less freedom and peace we have. When I get really “triggered” by someone or something, if I make it all about the other person or the thing I am focusing on, I usually miss the real gift, the lesson, and the point (i.e. the shadow or mirror that this negative thing is showing me about myself and life).

If you walked around for a day or a week and made a commitment not to get offended, do you think it would impact the quality of your life? I bet it would. What if we could just let things be, instead of always having to comment on everything, form an opinion about everyone we meet and all the things we see, and speak up all the time about what we think should be done.

A great reminder of this is the book THE FOUR AGREEMENTS, by don Miguel Ruiz. I love this book and his teaching. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. Check out http://www.miguelruiz.com/. One of the four agreements is, “Don’t take anything personally.” What an important message for all of us to hear.