When we let it, anger can take us over and change the person we are. The worst part about this is, the fact that anger is a normal part of life and a natural emotion that every person experiences. We may not be able to avoid anger, however we can replace it. The next time you feel yourself becoming angry or frustrated with a person, try defeating anger with compassion.
We seem to live in an angry world. Presidential candidates appeal to our displeasure with the way our country is and incite us to view it with angry eyes. We do not think of anger as a state we enjoy. Would you want to be angry if you had the choice to be at peace? The problem is that we do not always see peace as the alternative to anger.
Many people feel hopeless about their lives and helpless to change the things they do not like. They feel crushed by the burden of their unhappy existence. Anger seems to bring them to life. At least they can feel something even if they do not like what they feel. There is some satisfaction in knowing they can at least arouse themselves from dissatisfaction through anger all the way to rage.
The problem with a constant diet of anger is that it turns you inward to focus on your own troubles. It encourages you to feel sorry for yourself, jealous of what others have and angry at those whom you see as keeping you from attaining what you want from life. The angrier you get, the more stuck you feel. Do you recall the Uncle Remus tale about Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby? You might rage at others but nothing changes for you, at least not for the better.
What is the alternative? Anger keeps you focused on your inner torments regardless of how much you blame others for them. How about compassion as an alternative? Maybe this never occurred to you. At first glance, the relationship between anger and compassion might appear puzzling. What could these two states of mind and emotion possibly have to do with each other?
First, they have nothing in common. however, try being angry at someone and feeling compassion at the same time. We just saw what anger looks like and how it feels. How about compassion? To feel compassionate, you first need to put aside your own feelings, especially negative ones. Next, you need to open yourself to understanding what another person is feeling. You see, hear and maybe touch this person without judgment.
You are only interested in what he or she experiences. You learn a little about what it might be like to be that person. You might never have felt what this person feels or had the experiences he or she had. You listen gently to find out how it feels to be that person or what the world looks like from his or her perspective. Now you will start to understand the meaning of compassion.
It is surely time to build a global community where people can live together in mutual respect!
With thanks to Langen -
Learn to speak the language of the Universe - http://www.goalsandsuccess.co.uk
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