A Fool Gives Full Vent to His Anger

I attended a conference in LA yesterday where I saw many colleagues from the natural health community. It's always great spend time with former teachers and inspiring luminaries, and meeting new colleagues, no matter what your field. On the flip side, I ran into a former classmate who was remembered for his frequent reactions -- loud and angry -- to various situations. When we were in school, most everyone just though he was going through some personal stress and gave him a lot of latitude, as people do. After all, we all have challenges in our lives, and it's best to give others the benefit of the doubt.

So here we were yesterday, years later -- when our paths crossed, I soon realized that this man has no peace in his life because he reacts to every situation and blames everyone else, rather than living an authentic life and accepting responsibility for it. In short order, his negativity and escalating dialogue, cleared the area.

When we spend our entire lives reacting to people instead of making our own choices, it will weaken our lives.

Doing what others have "done to you" is an excuse. When you think about it, resentment -- getting even -- is a waste.

• It's a waste of time. The whole time you're mad, the person you're upset toward is totally oblivious to it. Resentment always hurts you more than it does the other person.

• It's a waste of energy. You spend all that energy getting upset that you get depressed, fatigued, you run out of energy, and you're tired all the time. But worst of all …

• It’s a waste of creativity. Most of us, when we’re angry at somebody, we become extremely creative, thinking of ways to get back at that person.

Proverbs 29:11: "A fool gives full vent to his anger. But a man of understanding controls himself."

Thank you, Rick Warren, for always having the right message at the right time!

OC