Controlling Anger

A thin line seperates right from wrong and when one is blinded by anger; it can be near impossible to see this line - I am not sure exactly who said these words originally but a nun in my first primary school used them as her mantra to teach us the way of the world. She also informed us that in some of the human race patience was fictional.  This nun was legendary, when she passed away when I was 9, it taught me that God takes even the best if he wants. 

In lessons taught by this nun, at first we used to write with pencils, she taught us that this was a sign that our mistakes could be easily and readily corrected. As the terms went on,  we received our first fountain pens to write, in giving us these pens the nun taught us that we were expected to take the responsibility of not making irreversible mistakes.

She made a huge impression on my life and I suppose outside of my family unit at that age was the first person I really looked up too, she sparked my interest in life and religion that has always stayed with me.  

Over the years, I have learnt alot about anger, an emotion that most of us experience often, some more than others.  We read about anger, we learn anger management tips, and we know that it is an emotion with the power to destroy, and yet when it comes to our own lives, it’s an altogether different story.  Anger is an emotion that cannot be evaded, life is much more beautiful when we learn not to succumb to anger.

Temper wise I take after my father.  My brother over the last year and a half has calmed in his approach to life and it's confrontations, making we wonder is it possible to be someone who never gets angry?

Anger itself cannot be controlled but how we react when we are angry can be controlled.  If life was simple and easy, the best thing to do when you are angry would be to do nothing for anger is like a complete power cut to the thinking area of the brain.   

Over the past 7/8 years I have gone through some incredibly difficult periods, I have gone through every emotion possibly including anger which stayed with me for a long time, I had to control my tongue, I let myself feel the emotion, but I don’t let myself react, I have had to control myself. 

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

Being angry about my condition never helped me, moving forward I will continue to not control the anger but instead control myself, this is starting to become second nature to me now.