Anger is an emotion that can
destroy us if we do not take care to control it. People experience varying
degrees of anger. Some of us are “short tempered,” which means that we get
angry at the flimsiest of excuses and show irritation and disgust. Display and
expression of emotions sometimes results in disastrous consequences, which may
result in such people ending on the other side of the law. Some people are good
at controlling their emotions and do not show their annoyance and displeasure.
Instead they try to reason out with themselves or with others and try to arrive
at constructive solutions to problems that were the cause of their displeasure
or annoyance.
Anger can cause serious
consequences like separation of wedded couples, rebellion by children, suicides
by the affected people and so on. Violence resulting from anger can take
devastating forms. You must have heard of “road rage” due to which drivers
sometimes cause accidents that result in death.
Controlling anger is more easily
said than done. Meditation, Relaxation and the like are some of the methods
advocated to control anger. These aids allow us to keep our minds free and
relaxed and make us concentrate on the better things of life.
Let me share a simple thought with
you. Whenever you are provoked why don’t you just close your eyes for a short
time and think of how you should react before actually doing so? Think of what
made the other person say what provokes you. After all he or she also has a
reason. Unless, of course, he or she is trying to deliberately provoke you
because of dislike or jealousy. In such cases also showing a temper would be
doing what the person wants you to do. Deny him or her the pleasure and smile
at him and then say the right thing under the circumstances.
There are many examples that we can
emulate though we can not be like them. Gandhiji said that if you are slapped,
don’t show your anger, but show the other cheek. This is a bit unrealistic in
today’s world, but the lesson we should draw is that no constructive result is
possible by stoking the fire. We should try to douse the fire.
