Sharing a beautiful story that will make us sense and acknowledge our inner feelings and help channelize its expression in a more evolved way with deeper understanding.
*The Empty Boat -A Story of Anger.*
A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own.
With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes, he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared disturb his meditation. But when he opens his eyes, he sees it is an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake.
At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization, and understands that the anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him.
From then on, whenever he came across someone who irritated him or provoked him to anger, he reminded himself: ”The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me……”
In reality, we all have the anger within us, all the time, All it needs is someone, like the empty boat, to provoke it.
This story makes us think on many levels especially so on anger management.
Is our anger innate?How deep does it delve?
How much is our responsibility in acknowledging our true selves.
Acknowledgement is a step towards a response than reaction .
Acceptance leads to greater self-awareness.
Savvy
The question is not only why feel provoked with anger but how to manage it. How can it be circumvented? Is there a way to do so?
Every time we recognize where the anger resides we will learn to accept the source is the self than others. And then make an effort to not suppress or repress but channelize it in more productive ways.
In our wheel of human behaviour and emotions, Anger sits in the opposite spectrum of joyousness. It is a negative emotion that propels further negative thoughts. There arises the backlash of discontent and disorientation in various degrees depending on the level of anger that manifests.
Anger truly serves no purpose than destruction
For true peace, it can be a bone of contention
So let go of all anger and false pretensions
And value the calm that you actually are.
Savvy
On a lighter note here are a few reflections towards channelling arising negative emotions in awareness
and some amazing quotes from the great souls to go with it !:))
Think Humorously:’ If red is the colour of anger it is the colour of love too!’
Think Happy: ‘For every minute of anger you are losing 60 seconds of happiness ..’.Ralph Waldo Emerson
Think Creatively:’The Greatest remedy for anger is delay!’
Think Practically: ‘He who angers you conquers you’.
Think Logically: ‘You will not be punished for your anger but by your anger…’ Buddha
Think Peacefully: ‘Anger is the ultimate destroyer of your own peace of mind’. Dalai Lama
Think Kindly: ‘Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you…’ Bible
Think of changing the wavelengths:’ Anger makes you smaller while forgiveness forces you to grow
beyond what you are!’
Paying attention to your breath: Breath in the now…to release resentment
In the inhale and exhale.: Pause to respond and delay a reaction
Express Positivism: Let your past make you better, not bitter
Express Humility: ‘Angry people are not always wise…’ Jane Austen
Express Gratitude: ‘ Anger won’t make your problems easier but gratitude will make you stronger.’
Whenever you can …
Because you always can!
February 17, 2018 at 7:45 am
Not just only anger rather all the difilements are our mental feelings and formations, which arise as a reaction of a contact, established through any of our sense organ, with an out side object, nothing else. Whenever, instead of reaction, we take respond with awareness, the difilement vanishes.
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February 17, 2018 at 12:01 pm
Very well said Kishan Lakhotia Thank you for sharingyour insights.
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February 17, 2018 at 12:16 pm
Welcome
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February 17, 2018 at 7:47 am
Great post Savvy, anger is with us and in us. I agree.
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February 17, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Beautiful post . we need to understand and react to that anger provocation.
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February 17, 2018 at 12:52 pm
Thank you Prashashti for your thinking so . I have added a little more to the reflections to this post , just now .. when your comment popped in ☺. So do feel free to check it out at leisure 💕
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February 18, 2018 at 6:01 am
Am expecting another post like this I just read. You really make my day reading this one.
Thanks. Again. You can check me up on my blog also
Patrickrealstories.wordpress.com
#PATRICKSTORIES
Peace and Love
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February 19, 2018 at 6:46 pm
Thank you Patrick . Good to know!
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February 22, 2018 at 2:41 pm
I know what you are saying and I try to distance myself from people and circumstances which provoke the anger. But I am unable to answer when someone says to me “how can I not get angry and let it be when I see someone doing the wrong things?” Any suggestion?
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February 23, 2018 at 4:24 am
At the root of anger is a survival instinct .
Without anger there could be a vulnerability But having said that anger needs channeling not control as one cannot suppress the anger for too long . It needs to be vented out in a more logical manner that gradually nullifies the very reason to get angry in time.
Our human body is indeed extremely enterprising and fascinating! It builds it own internal mechanisms to handle and balance emotions! Choosing response than reaction is incredible!
Your method of distancing yourself from provocations may be best suited for your situations.
There may be many reasons why you are being so … but on a lighter note perhaps you can say, that you have simply learned to dance lightly with life! Thank you for your reflections to the post .
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March 13, 2018 at 11:27 am
Let it go…….
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March 13, 2018 at 11:38 am
Yes indeed!
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March 13, 2018 at 11:38 am
🍀🍀🍀
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