Written by Jessi Kohlhagen “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?” -Rumi Everything that upsets us about others can lead us to a greater understanding of ourselves, if we choose it. No matter how much they irritate us, don’t share our same beliefs, or don’t do things the way we like, we are ultimately responsible for how we choose to respond (and for the consequences those responses have on our lives). And this doesn't only mean our external, verbal responses. It means our inner responses -- the mental, emotional, energetic reactions that are triggered in the deepest parts of our being, and the destruction (or growth) these responses can cause in our lives. An awakened human being realizes that the other person is never the problem. Something powerfully transformational happens when you take this truth to heart and apply it to absolutely everything in your life.