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Be a Lightning Rod for Hate
Avoiding anger is the best super power we can have. But how is it possible?
It seems like our happiness has to come at the expense of others. But this is false.
Life is not a win-lose. We can have win-wins.
Sometimes those win-wins are hard to see at first.
When someone is angry, oozing animosity, dripping with contempt, looking for somebody to take their frustration out on, they are suffering.
If you allow their hostility to make you hostile, you become infected by their suffering. Now you’re both suffering.
It may seem that arguing with this person gives you a chance to defend and protect yourself. After all, we say that you can “win” an argument. In the short term, it feels like you’ve won and they lost. But just by arguing, you’ve both lost.
How often will that scenario replay in your head? Can you feel the tension in your shoulders as you re-live the experience? Can you feel your blood boiling — even though you argued a good case?
This is how we end up causing our own suffering. Even when we think we’ll be happy or satisfied with our decision, hostility will make us suffer eventually.
