I have been noticing a distinct sense of uneasiness, a perturbation of the mind and heart that happens immediately after encounters with people I know in the last day or so and, although I’m unsure if it has to do with the particular people or an internal struggle of which I am only dimly aware, it is what I am working with at present. So far the best strategy I have found is to calm the agitation by means of metta–the simple act of wishing the person well seems to ground me and calm the turmoil within.
As I brought goodwill to mind for the person who caused me to veer off into agitation this morning I began to notice others coming to mind as well. In short, the mind seemed to have scoouted ahead and identified all of the people with whom I would have problems throughout the course of the day as well as having located a few others to ruminate and brood upon for good measure. It seemed instantly like the right thing to do was extend good-will to them in turn and the results were good even if there were no choirs of angels.
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
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