On anger and patience
Once upon a time I was a very angst-ridden, impatient person, and when I say very, I really mean, I could have quite possibly killed you if you didn’t give me exactly what I wanted, the way I wanted it, and fast!
I was one of those psychos on the road, who, if you somehow manage to piss off offend with your driving, would hunt you down and seek revenge, or those customers that are a complete nightmare to serve, you know the ones, who, if things are not exactly the way they ordered it, would make you want to run home and curl up into a fetal position for the rest of your life! Oh, how I wish I were exaggerating!
Anyways, as anyone on a spiritual journey would attest, two of the more important things are increased patience and decreased anger, which have been challenging, but which I think I have been successful at achieving to some extent; at least I am much more easy going than I used to be.
For years I’ve been actively trying to improve my patience and anger issues, for example, sometimes when I am driving behind someone who is sloooooow, I will try not to pass them, or get angry, but instead drive slowly behind them… I have found this to be one of THE most difficult things to actually do, as in sometimes I want to stab myself to escape the agony! But, I take deep breaths and think good thoughts, and smile, a lot, and speak kind words to them, as I push the thoughts of slowly torturing them out of my mind! Strangely enough, this is one of the exercises that have really helped me to be able to control myself in high tension situations.
My mom was telling me yesterday about how road rage has been the cause of quite a few accidents lately, and while I can totally understand road rage, I have come to the realization that it is not only not worth it, but it’s just really stupid! I am so much happier now that I am not a maniac! I know that this may seem completely obvious to most people, but sometimes, for people like me, it’s just not as obvious, but rage really gets us no where, learning to smile and forgive is just so much better, seriously.
I think that we all have these particular things that annoy us greatly, for me, it’s people who drive slowly, traffic, and bad customer service representatives, but getting angry was really hurting me more than anyone else… I would totally obsess about the situation and just end up being frustrated needlessly! Now, I, having learnt to let things go to a certain extent, have been a much happier and generally more likable person…or so I hope!
So, my point is, don’t let anger control you, think about the things that you really cannot handle, and then actively try to manage your emotions. Try it! I think you’ll be pleased to learn that you really don’t have to be angry!
