Find something that’s even more liberating than a good mood: the ability not to be a slave to the ups and downs of your moods. That’s a state of mind that’s really worth cultivating.

"When other people do good, you can see it as a sign that there are people in this world who do good. You get some energy from that. Otherwise, if all you can see are other people’s drawbacks, your own goodness gets stale and shriveled. You have to see their good points as well. When you can notice them, that’s energy for you. Don’t be jealous of them. They’ve got some good — sometimes they’ve got some good better than you have. Well, here’s your chance to see a good example. When other people act in ways that are really bad, you can remind yourself, “Okay, this is what bad actions look like from outside. Maybe I’ve got some actions just like that.”

So regardless of what other people do, you’ve got to learn how to think in ways that help liberate your mind from being a slave to their actions or making your moods depend on their actions. You have to learn how to develop the right mood to practice, to energize yourself to practice, so you need for your motivation to come from within in a healthy way.

To keep yourself from falling to hell or going to heaven over other people’s actions, you’ve got to learn how to separate yourself out. Remember, it’s actually your actions that are creating the heaven and the hell. Don’t weigh yourself down with hells and don’t get complacent about the heavens. There’s got to be a spot in the mind where you can step back from all of these moods and just watch. When the body is energized, when the body is tired, you’ve got to have the ability to drop your moods and just watch them.

That’s when you find something that’s even more liberating than a good mood: the ability not to be a slave to the ups and downs of your moods. That’s a state of mind that’s really worth cultivating. It requires concentration, it requires discernment, but it’s one of the really basic ways in which we liberate ourselves from being a slave to the world."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Other People"

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