•    The person who cut in front of you on the road.
•    The elderly person taking too much time at the checkout counter, while complaining of his or her health.
•    The child having a temper tantrum beside or behind you at the restaurant where you are trying to enjoy your meal.
•    The homeless person begging for your change.
•    Those physically different.
•    The mentally or physically disabled or challenged.
•    That one person at work, church, etc. that we cringe when they come into the room.

What do all of these have in common? For a large portion of the population, they each evoke a strong – and usually negative – emotion in us.

Why?

These are but a few examples of a mirror being placed in front of us, and that mirror is showing us either our fears – or – something that we don’t like about ourselves.

In the instances above, usually those which evoke the feelings of fear are those which we are scared of, such as: “What if that happened to me?” or perhaps brings about a feeling of something beyond our control.

For those which bring anger or disgust are usually those that are highlighting something we don’t like about ourselves – such as: (for those who are, or were, parents) “Why can’t they control that kid?!” is possibly accompanied with the memory of ‘been there, done that’, with a memory feeling of embarrassment or frustration.

When you come across a circumstance or person who evokes such feelings, stop and ask yourself, “What is it that I am feeling? Why am I feeling this way? What am I afraid of?”

With honesty with self, you can learn more about you, address it, and hopefully bring peace to you as well as toward the circumstance and/or person.

(If it becomes excessive or obsessive, please seek professional counseling.)