Gratitude for triggers

Here's a very difficult teaching to put into practice. But it's very powerful:

Our first line of defense against unhappiness is refusing to believe that we are the victims of the bad intentions of others. The formula is: Do not blame the trigger. The world is full of triggers; in fact, life is designed like that, so that we will truly practice. We can be grateful for all these triggers, as without them we might never recognize our own unfortunate reactions.

— Ayya Khema in Visible Here and Now