Mindfulness Mondays 41: Why Are You So Angry?
March 8, 2010 by dr. lam
I was in yoga practice a few months ago when my instructor, Suze Curtis, told a story during our shavasana practice at the end of class (for you non-yogis out there, that is when we all lie down in rest and meditation at the conclusion of class). Anyway, I really liked this story. She reminded me of a movie that I saw a few years ago, Seabiscuit, the prized horse whose jockey Red Pollard is about whom this story relates. In one instance, Red was riding Seabiscuit hard but was knocked out of the race by a dirty deed by another competing jockey. In disgust, as Red walks off the track, he encounters his advisor who asks him, “Why are you really so angry?” At that point in the movie, there is a flashback to when Red was 13 and it shows his parents abandoning him.
What Suze mentioned was that when we have a situation we are angry at, most likely it has very little to do with the other person or even with the circumstance. It has a lot to do with ourselves, how we allow anger to engulf our lives, how we allow ourselves to lose patience, how we allow circumstances and people to influence our behavior, reaction, thought and deed. Next time you get angry, ask yourself what you are really angry at. You might just find it has nothing to do with the other person or even your circumstance.
Comments
2 Responses to “Mindfulness Mondays 41: Why Are You So Angry?”
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
Very good point and very true!! Great blog, Dr. Lam! Something great to think about this week!
thanks heather! glad you liked it!