Other people's shoes

I've edited this from the way I wrote it the first time. Hope this is better!!

I ended up angering and upsetting a person with no idea why. I am such a wonderful, cheery person, how could I have upset someone. Seriously though, I try very hard to be nice and pleasant to people, even when they aren't.

When someone is unpleasant, our reaction is to be unpleasant back, well for most people anyway. Just because I'm Buddhist doesn't mean I can't get ticked off. My father isn't Buddhist, he's Roman Catholic. He insists that, no matter what I call myself, I'm Roman Catholic. It's just his way of picking on me, like telling me I'm a year older than I really am, he was there he should know. He lives to see if he can aggravate me. If my foot starts jiggling, which happens when I'm aggravated, he knows he's won and then he's like a kid in the candy story, all happy!

What have I done in my life to him to warrant him to find joy in rufflling my feathers I don't know...wait, if I think about stuff I did as a kid...hmm, okay maybe I deserve some picking on. Lol. Truly though his picking in all in good fun and with love. Now my family is a mixed religion family as I've just stated that my dad is Catholic, obviously I'm Buddhist, my younger brother Eric is Pentecostal, my youngest brother Brian is Buddhist, my husband is Episcopalian, my eldest son is kinda Buddhist, but doesn't really practice, and my youngest son is Buddhist. I am the only one my father picks on. For example, I had gotten a new Stupta for my alter. If you don't know what that is Wikipedia it, but briefly it looks like a temple and is an alter item to use as a focus when meditating. My father calls it a stupid house., and he gets such joy at his pun, that I'll look annoyed just to make his day.

How have I gone so far off topic....I'm not sure. Well I guess the point of that bit of rambling is that I could get truly annoyed at the picking, and then I'm sure my Dad would stop, but then the fun he has doing it would stop, and I wouldn't giggle inside as I jiggle my foot on purpose, to see him so happy. So what point would it serve.

Back to the person I had upset. I found out later, this person was under a ton of stress, was sick, and everything kept going wrong and then had to deal with something I said that was taken the wrong way, so I put myself their shoes, I realized it wasn't me that they were upset with, I was just in the way, I don't know if I could have dealt with everything half as well! Perspective. Don't let other pull you down, you don't know what's going on in their life. So never take something personal. You control your happiness. Choose to be happy.:)