When you get irritated you are irritated because you do not have all the control you would like. You want silence, and there is noise. You want to be undisturbed, and you are disturbed. You want to reach somewhere fast, and traffic has another idea. You want to take a nap, and the phone doesn't stop ringing. You feel foiled by the vicissitudes of life. Somewhere you got the idea that everything has to be in accord with your wishes. And you feel like a raging despot when they don't.

Dear children, you cannot change what happens. Applaud when things go the way you want, and be gentle when they do not. You will have much practice in learning how to be gentle. You have had enough practice in getting roiled.

Even be gentle with your irritation. It's not its fault. You set it up in your mind that certain things are supposed to be just so, and when they are not, you are perturbed. Even if you have every reason to be perturbed, even outraged, what is the good of it? A boundary you did not want fell on your foot, and then you kick it with your wounded foot. To what avail? How practical is that?

You do not have to like everything that comes your way. You do not have to like being interrupted, but you don't have to be angry about it either. Accept interruption and annoyance as you do the weather. When the wind blows, you close the door. When it rains in, you get up and close the window. You are not irate with the wind or the rain. You simply get up and take care of them. You do not rage at them and become a storm yourself.

And yet, this may be what you do with the annoyances in life. You think they are not supposed to be there. You think they are an imposition yet they have as much right to be there as you. Take care of annoyances to the extent they can be taken care of, and then go on about your business.

Annoyances are not your enemy. They are not out to get you. They simply are there when you don't want them to be.

Must you react to everything in your life? If the phone keeps ringing, must you stomp over to answer it? The phone didn't know you wanted to take a nap.

You who so desperately want control in your life sometimes forget your manners. I do not ask you to control yourself, because control is not what you have free will for. You have free will to let go of control. Control is not the issue. Reception of life is.

Sometimes it can be that when you are less irritated by certain situations, they will go away on their own. Sometimes. Not always. Nor do they have to.

Sometimes when you look from another perspective, nothing changes except how you look at it. How you look at it makes all the difference in the world. And I know you do want to make a difference to the world. You who want to create peace and bemoan the lack of it in the world will do well to create more peace in your own life. Choose peace over anger. Choose love over everything. Love yourself, and even love the situations you have been so adamant about.

If the squeaky door annoys you, oil it. If you cannot oil it, let it squeak. What does it have to do with you? It can go its way, and you can go yours. Have a smooth passage through life. I accompany you.