I was texting with a friend yesterday when the Grasshopper joined the texting generation and keystroked, “Bitterness knows no boundaries.”

It seems bitterness is painted with a wide brush. When you’re bitter, you cover everyone you come in contact with, with one coat.

We don’t seem to have any filters when we’re bitter. We curse around saints and sinners alike.

Bitterness is a form of anger, and like its twin emotion, it harms you more than it does those to whom you direct it.

We seem to think by spreading it around that we will be less affected by it. That’s another big lie we’ve been conditioned into.

Like any emotion, it’s better to bring presence to bitterness. That means to notice where the sensation of bitterness shows up in your body and just sit with it. Don’t attempt to chase it away or assign it a cause – just notice it and feel it. That’s when transmutation happens.

I think of transmutation as laundering your emotions. The washing away happens when we notice the dirt and choose to pay attention to it, without blaming a cause. What does it matter that a unicorn threw up on you? The only thing that matters is getting clean.

Bitterness will not go away with time; it needs your time and attention to get it to wash away.

If you’re tired of being bitter and experiencing the havoc it’s causing you, schedule a laundry day and start washing bitterness away.

All the best,

John