The Four Agreements - Part 2

It's eerie how this one little book has had such a large impact on me. I'm not saying I've been able to hold to all 4 agreements yet, but I find myself thinking about them a lot and trying to apply them to my own actions.

The second Agreement from Don Miguel Ruiz is one of the more difficult ones for me: Don't Take Anything Personally. Here's a summary of this agreement:

Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of
their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and
actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

Alas, I have not yet learned to be "immune to the opinions and actions of others." When someone pays me a compliment or gives me a hug, I do feel it at a personal level. Yet, the book says that I shouldn't require this type of validation to feel good about myself. But I still do and I sort of wonder, what's wrong with that?

On the other hand, I think I'm starting to make some small progress in not taking negative things personally. I've been the organizer for a weekly game which has been lots of fun. Recently, the usual players have not been able to attend the game and for awhile I felt this was a rejection of me in some way. But, lately, I don't feel that the current game hiatus is a statement about me or people not wanting to be with me. Well, mostly I feel that...see, I still have a lot of work to do regarding not taking anything personally.

Personal growth is hard!