Anger anger everywhere...

I get angry a lot. The blood starts to boil and I just can't help myself. I feel the tightening in my chest, the clenching of my jaw, and the heating of my head. These are not pleasant feelings. But instead of wishing they would dissipate, as I often do with other emotions, I revel in the anger of the moment. I run with the feeling and watch it grow until it explodes in some direction. It feels so good until right after the explosion, when I realize that I've just barfed my angry energy all over whichever person, animal, or object has been unfortunate enough to bear witness to my display.

It feels necessary at the time, but I know it's not. I know it's counterproductive to be reactive in that way. What I'm actually looking at here is not anger itself, but the reaction to it, and the aftermath of that reaction. I can say with confidence that no action I have committed out of anger has ever helped a situation. The only time that anger is useful to me is when it serves as a red flag that a situation is not meeting my needs and something has to change. Dissipating anger by taking rational steps to change the situation for the better always works out more favorably, for sure.

So what steps can I take to create space between the feeling of anger and the reaction? Experience tells me that this sort of question only has one answer... practice. But practice what? For me, he best way to interrupt a thought process like that dead in its tracks is mantra. I could always use my old standby, but I want this to stand out in my mind as especially used for this purpose. I want to use it to remind me of my higher consciousness that is sometimes overshadowed in my perception by the passing emotion I am experiencing. Namo namaha? I think I'll try it on for size.

For the uninitiated, namo namaha essentially serves as a reminder that the world does not revolve around me (or you). I use it as a reminder that I am linked in to a higher consciousness; that I am just one piece of the puzzle and not the whole thing.

Perspective is everything.

Namo namaha.