You are not the target

The other day I was minding my own business walking when some guy was walking in the other direction. Now I always give a huge smile when I see anyone on my walks.

This guy returned my smile with a small smile. I took a slight offense.

Then a guy pulled out in front of me forcing me to break.

Finally a lady insisted on driving at about twenty five miles per hour in forty five mile an hour zone.

By this time I was getting slightly miffed – thank God I’m going through “A Course in Miracle” workbook. That day the thought for the day was “I have no neutral thoughts.” So very soon I started laughing at myself. I realized that the cause of the problem was not the external events. They just were. It was my thoughts that bothered me.

At the same time I realized that most of the bother did not come from the events themselves but by my ego getting hurt. It was as though these three people had seekd me out to bother me.

It was as though I had a target on my chest saying, “Aim here.” The thought that these people were being nasty to me hurt not the facts of the actions in themselves.

But at this time thinking about “A Course in Miracles,” and my non-neutral thoughts, I simply decided to change my non-neutral thoughts from negative to positive.

I remember a play I had seen many years ago in London at the Young Vic. It was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.

At the time I just enjoyed Stoppard’s wonderful words. The fact that it was retelling the Hamlet story went by me (I was at this time a pure science student studying under two Nobel prize winners and understood a lot about neurons, rats, quantum mechanics but not much about Shakespeare at the time).

Later on I studied literature, philosophy, psychology, hypnosis and other humanities and I understood what the play was about.

More than anything else it showed that while we are the center stage, the stars of the play of our lives (the whole world is a stage…), we are the extras in other people’s lives.

So next time you think someone has it in for you (especially a stranger) understand that people are in their own life. It is very humbling but no one really cares for you.

• That guy most probably gave the largest smile he could. Either way it had nothing to do with me.
• The driver who pulled out – you imagine he would not have if someone else was where I was.
• Finally the slow lady (by the way she was talking on her cell phone to her ear – so it was best that she drove slowly) would have driven the same way no matter what.

Reminds me of the story of the frog and scorpion.

You Are Not the Target by Laura Archera Huxley

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