Second Pathway – Completely Dissolving Anger – Part
III
Two distinct and potential dangers
exist for people who nurture anger.
Popular periodicals and reputable medical journals report a growing
consensus among physicians, health professionals and researchers that links anger
to progressive heart disease, hypertension and other related illnesses. Stress borne of indefinable anger can
significantly contribute to premature death.
Hence, “de-stressing your life” is a major component of many wellness
and preventive disease plans.
Anecdotally, I witnessed in graduate school the untimely deaths of a
beloved professor at forty-nine years of age.
The most trivial issue infuriated him.
Molehills easily and quickly became mountains. As someone who overvalued the opinions of
others particularly his colleagues, he relegated minimal disagreements as
mortal insults and wounds. Suffering
with very low self-esteem, he lacked courage to confront his oppressors. He internalized these offenses. This toxicity poisoned his creativity and
scholarly productivity as he remained unsure of himself. Not surprisingly, he collapsed in the middle
of a tirade over the phone and never regained consciousness. Days later, this professor died soon after
the disconnection of life support machines.
Possessing a personal library exceeding eleven thousand volumes, most of
which he read as any lengthy conversation with him revealed, he died without
anyone truly knowing the depth and breadth of his knowledge and brilliance of
his mind. His lifelong anger robbed
humankind of incredible scholarly monographs and meticulously research
lectures.
The second disadvantage to nursing
incessant anger is its potent ability to erode resourcefulness. As in the genuinely pitiful story of my late
professor, anger consumes anything in its pathway. Dead trees become ashes out of which
something else can be born.
Horrifically, fawns and other wildlife lose their lives. Within a person’s consciousness, character
and psyche, anger blinds him or her to dormant ingenuity, healing opportunities
and purpose. In a previous job, I became
extraordinarily angry in response to the unwillingness of the congregation to
partner with me to serve needs of the surrounding community. I lashed out at them. I exhorted them to examine their Christian
commitment and understanding of “The Great Commandment” and “The Great
Commission.” I took the approach, “Full speed ahead. Damn the torpedoes.”
Consumed with furious righteous
indignation, I was unable to see different and equally effective ways to
resolve this inertia. Establishing
collaborations with not-for-profit organizations, community activists and other
churches was one alternative. Opening a
charitable entity separate from the inactive one that the church already had
was yet another means of serving people in need. Simply resigning when I incontrovertibly
realized that the congregation and I were not in sync as it relates to purpose
and objectives in ministry. Pursuing
professional opportunities that afforded me direct options to assist and
empower people in need was available.
Professionally, I erroneously assumed that my perseverance would yield
acquiescence from the congregation. When
confronted with opposition, I digressed to a previous character defect of
always fighting when unnecessarily provoked.
That regretful response, fueled with volcanic righteous indignation,
absorbed immeasurable mental focus and energy.
The fog of anger obscured my vision of personal options to prepare for
dissolving my relationship with the church.
My writing talent and abilities were growing exponentially. Two venues to obtain a doctorate in history
from adjacent universities were available; my unfortunate grandiosity borne of
immaturity further veiled these possibilities.
Seeking a telecommute job outside of the local job market would have
shielded my family and me from the reprehensible retribution that some
congregants sought after I resigned.
Cumulatively, these and other chances to develop professionally and
personally eluded me because I lived in a bubble of intense and sustained
furor.
Foregoing healing resolutions to anger
is more destructive. Retaining anger
within one’s mind, heart and character eventually corrodes a person’s
being. A residual thirst for punishment
of victimizers harms its bearer more greatly than its object. Refining crude oil into gasoline provides a
vivid image of how to transform psychic energy of crass anger into purpose and
personal fulfillment. The distillation
of gases and liquids which are separated and further refined into gasoline is
the means of employment, commerce, education, transportation and recreation.
Similarly, transformation of anger refines character defects and psychic
incapacities thereby enabling a person to experience the life that he or she
imagines. Relinquishment of rightful
punishment of perpetrators and greater acquisition of spiritual balance
distills psychic energy that fuels happiness, joy and freedom.
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