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On anger and forgiveness
########################

:date: 2019-06-16T14:49:36
:category: faith
:tags: blogComment, innerHealing

(my comments on “`the thread on reddit`_”)

.. _`the thread on reddit`:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/HPfanfiction/comments/bz6hki/prompt_during_the_events_of_prisoner_of_azkaban/eqso5j8/?context=8&depth=9

I have been thinking about this thread for the last couple of
days, and I am sorry I let myself to be side-tracked into a
stupid argument about the Christianity and religion and stuff.
Right now I read “`Harry Potter and the Knight of the Radiant
Heart`_” by Raven3182 and that made me into thinking about
forgiveness and anger again (BTW, I am just in the seventh
chapter, but it looks quite good).

There is that thing about being angry. First of all, let me make 
it clear, that I have no idea what your mother did to you, and 
certainly I have not experienced like that personally, so I have 
no way to even comprehend what you feel. Nevertheless, I know 
a bit about being angry for other reasons.

One very smart lady told me once (and she without doubt read it 
somewhere herself), that anger is the public show of our fear. 
I am not sure whether it is true physiologically (I am not 
a doctor, brain physiologist, psychiatrist, or anything of that 
sort), but I found out repeatedly that it is very helpful 
thinking about my anger in this way. When I get to the argument 
with my wife, it is usually very interesting to think what 
actually made me angry with her (and unfortunately, I am thinking 
that only later, too often too much later). There may be some 
justified anger, but mostly I found that there is truly some fear 
underneath. I am afraid (of course, we are afraid of those who 
are closest to us, because they can hurt us most), that for 
example she won't get my point, she won't change her behaviour, 
and she will therefore eventually hurt me (or our children; even 
worse!) again. By being angry I am trying to generate enough 
force to persuade her she is wrong, and I am right. 
Unfortunately, after twenty-three years of marriage, I have 
exhaustively tested it doesn't work, and the only change of 
hearts happens when she herself is persuaded about the need of 
change.

I haven’t experienced true child abuse, but I went through share 
of anger in my life. I grew up in the Communist Czechoslovakia 
and whenever I think how much my life (and life of my parents!) 
was screwed up by Them, I go out of control how much angry I am. 
How much opportunity I lost because I couldn't grow up in the 
normal country, how much hurt and debilitated my parents were (my
father got his heart attack during the time when was interrogated
by the secret police on the false accusation of rape). And I may
perfectly know it is completely irrational (well, now less than
five years ago; oh well), but there is still fear they will
return again, or that I may never recover what I've lost.

Of course, my receipts on what to do with such fear are useless 
to you (giving my trust in the God’s Providence, etc.), but still 
I think it is better to understand our fears (and yes, as Seneca
wrote, if we didn't control our fear, it controls ourselves),
then to think there is something good about it.

Just a thought.

.. _`Harry Potter and the Knight of the Radiant Heart`:
   https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9203082