Have you ever written down the things that annoy you?  Things that make your blood pressure rise.  Did it make you realize, in the grand scheme of things, just how petty they are?

My list included pedestrians walking the wrong way on no-sidewalk streets; sprinklers that wet the sidewalk and everyone on it; receptionists glued to a screen, ignoring presence of a real person; people talking during a speech or live performance; cars that straddle two parking spaces.  That’s the short list.  Do you see anything earth shattering? Thought not. Is there a possibility of changing these people or situations?  Slim.

A physician friend once observed … “it’s not the elephants that irritate us to the point of high blood pressure, it’s the gnats.” His advice -- throw away the magnifying glass.  Through a magnifier those tiny wrinkles are enlarged tenfold.  Examining gnats with a magnifying glass makes them appear much larger. Magnify the image of any person, place, or occasion, and you’ll find something to criticize

Not too long ago it was my bounden duty to tell walkers they were walking the wrong way, leave the sprinkler owner and the parking straddler notes, shush the talkers.  If talking is too egregious I still shush.  The rest I decided Que Sera, Sera.

Saving the magnifier for problems that need a closer look at the why, how, where – and what can we do, has been a time, and perhaps a life saver.  Remember the 60’s … when “Don’t sweat the little stuff,” was the buzz term?  It appears those young people had it right.

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