Suffering Is Optional

The past 48 hours have challenged me. I find myself dwelling on my reactions to other people and their behavior. I know that I can't change what is reality, yet I let myself get so upset. Why can I not accept reality and move on?

I find myself thinking things like, this person doesn't love me enough, that person wants too much from me, this person is selfish. The reality is that I don't know what motivates any of these people or what they want. It's my responses to their behavior that is causing my suffering. It's like the left side of my brain ignores the rational right side and weaves these elaborate tales of fear and anger. The knowledge that I'm thinking irrationally does not seem to give me the power to stop it.

"We are disturbed not by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens." Epictetus