It is not events, but the meanings that you hold of them that agitate you. A great happening in the world that you do not take to be related to yourself, does it bother you greatly? It doesn’t because you do not enforce the ‘outer equals inner’ rule in such cases. But the moment you bring about, bring in that dangerous equation, that dubious identity, ‘outer is inner,’ that is the moment you start shivering and panicking. We decide our triggers, they don’t just happen.
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Acharya Prashant: You are standing, and a fellow comes over and slaps you hard on your shoulder from behind. The automated response is to turn back and look at him. But if he is a friend, then the same touch, hit, or slap often becomes a matter of rejoicing. But if he is a stranger, then the whole thing gets triggered off, often into something bigger.
We tell ourselves what to be triggered by. This is not merely a matter of culpability; this is potentially a matter of our freedom. Because if you can tell yourself to get triggered, agitated, or disturbed, then you can also, probably, equally tell yourself not to get triggered.
It is not events, but the meanings that you hold of them that agitate you.
You are in a building, and the fire alarm goes off, and you can get quite scared. But if someone comes over and tells you, “Oh, it’s just a mock drill, it’s just a simulation. No need to worry,” then the same alarm can keep buzzing or ringing, and you don’t bother. Now the meanings of those sounds have changed. The sound in itself was not a trigger; the meaning you added to it was. And it is at your discretion whether or not to add that meaning.
