![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
More and more, I see people around me being avoidably unhappy. Stressed, angry, etc. to a damaging degree.
I've posted before about how I meditate, but I've realized that I never really expanded that to explain what I learned from doing so. It seemed obvious to me that the lessons were there, but that's because I'd already learned them. I forgot how deceptively simple they are.
Here's the thing. Anger comes from within. It's a reaction to something. It wells up from your unconscious mind, but it's yours. It's your choice what to do with it. It's your choice whether to hold onto it or let it go. The simple truth is that it takes less energy to open your hand than to keep your fist clenched. It hurts less, too.
Which isn't to say that anger doesn't have its place, its uses. Yogis may focus on a constant state of inner peace, but that comes at a price. If you delve into it too deeply, you become detached from the world around you. If you always let go, you become complacent, satisfied with inaction. There are times when anger is the appropriate response.
More often, though, it does more harm than good. It makes you unhappy. It burns up your energy. It makes the people around you unhappy (even if they're not the ones you're angry with). It leads you to rash decisions. It makes you more prone to be upset by other things. In short, it hurts.
But it's your choice. You can choose not to be angry. You can choose to let it go. It really is that easy. And the same goes for stress or just about any other emotional reaction. I don't get stressed out because I choose not to be.
All it takes is a bit of practice. Which is where meditation comes in. Take a few minutes a day to train yourself. To learn to consciously recognize your emotions and to relax and let them go. Once you pick up the knack of it, you can do it any time, in the space of a single breath.
You can't control what other people do. You can't control the things that happen to you. But you can control yourself. And once you learn to do that, you and everyone around you will be happier.
I've posted before about how I meditate, but I've realized that I never really expanded that to explain what I learned from doing so. It seemed obvious to me that the lessons were there, but that's because I'd already learned them. I forgot how deceptively simple they are.
Here's the thing. Anger comes from within. It's a reaction to something. It wells up from your unconscious mind, but it's yours. It's your choice what to do with it. It's your choice whether to hold onto it or let it go. The simple truth is that it takes less energy to open your hand than to keep your fist clenched. It hurts less, too.
Which isn't to say that anger doesn't have its place, its uses. Yogis may focus on a constant state of inner peace, but that comes at a price. If you delve into it too deeply, you become detached from the world around you. If you always let go, you become complacent, satisfied with inaction. There are times when anger is the appropriate response.
More often, though, it does more harm than good. It makes you unhappy. It burns up your energy. It makes the people around you unhappy (even if they're not the ones you're angry with). It leads you to rash decisions. It makes you more prone to be upset by other things. In short, it hurts.
But it's your choice. You can choose not to be angry. You can choose to let it go. It really is that easy. And the same goes for stress or just about any other emotional reaction. I don't get stressed out because I choose not to be.
All it takes is a bit of practice. Which is where meditation comes in. Take a few minutes a day to train yourself. To learn to consciously recognize your emotions and to relax and let them go. Once you pick up the knack of it, you can do it any time, in the space of a single breath.
You can't control what other people do. You can't control the things that happen to you. But you can control yourself. And once you learn to do that, you and everyone around you will be happier.
Tags: