Dear Friends: Is Anger a Choice?

When we are provoked, even our partners can seem unbearable. When we’re looking for flaws or scapegoats, we’re surrounded. Anything that deviates from the ideal we’ve conjured up is an excuse to cringe. And when we’re not interested in resolving differences, we make them out to be insurmountable.

From that position, we’d rather be right than validate another view or reach a compromise. As long as the other guy is wrong, we have grounds for disdain. We have an argument to stand on, a principle to defend, by God.

But when we open up to love, love moves the spotlight from our differences to our sameness. Our differences fade. And we open our minds to a win-win.

But, how do we avoid getting provoked? And how do we reach resolution once we are?

We stay centered in love. We choose to feel love. We choose to feed love. And that can be as simple as closing our eyes and taking a deep breath with the intention of letting love replace fear.

Let’s practice enough to get good at it and replace our old habit with a loving one. And let’s be grateful for choice. Truly grateful.

Love smiles on you,