How easy is it to blame external sources or circumstances for our own frustrations and failures? Pretty dang easy. I catch myself doing it all the time. It's our co-worker's fault, our spouse's issue, and our friend's stupidity. They are the feather ruffler, and we are simply the bird. It's them, not us...right?
The irony is that in nearly every situation, the world is simply reflecting back to us whatever good or bad we are displaying in our own lives. When we are regularly getting frustrated with others, it's usually a reflection of stress in our own lives. When we feel like we're under-appreciated, often times it's driven by a lack of gratitude in us, not them. When we find ourselves failing at this or that, it's usually a direct reflection of our own effort and input into it.
The same is true for the opposite. When we are in flow and life is clipping along, it's a reflection of our own positive input into it. When we find joy in our daily interactions, it's because we're consciously focusing on the good in our lives. When we're readily graceful with others, it's because we're acutely aware of our own shortcomings as well.
The world can be frustrating sometimes.
But the world is also an unbiased observer. It's like a shadow that never disappears, constantly showing back to us what it is we're displaying out into the world. More science than art, and more precision than inaccuracy, the world has an order to its feedback mechanism into our lives. And that feedback mechanism is usually spot on.
The world is a mirror. When we don't like what we see in our own lives, we shouldn't question the mirror. We should question the person looking into it.