Most people think anger is an emotion; it is however, not, but a reaction to an emotion – the emotion of fear. If you are able to see yourself as you really are, you will be able to see the connection. We all have fears, some legitimate and some not. When I see a 225-pound man afraid of a mouse or a little grass snake, I assume that fear is unfounded. At the same time, some people seem to have no fear of very dangerous situations.
This piece, however, will deal mostly with anger caused by legitimate fear. There is a movement today that will tell you that all anger is wrong! That is simply untrue. If someone fires a rifle near your home when your children are playing outside, you will be afraid for them and undoubtedly angry with the person firing the rifle. Legitimate anger.
If someone starts a totally untrue rumour about you and it effects your daily life or perhaps your job, you have every right to be angry.
The problem starts when you become angry over an illegitimate fear… when you think you’ve been slighted or disrespected by someone… when you begin to think that someone’s inappropriate behaviour is aimed at you and you take it personally. This kind of fear/anger will eat you up from the inside out.
I think that we all are angry at times when maybe we shouldn’t be. If we look first at the fear causing the anger, we may find that the fear is not what we thought it was and therefore, our anger was inappropriate. If we do this on an ongoing basis we will be less fearful, less angry and most likely much happier, thus making this world a better place for everyone.
— Conrad G.
- Narcotics Anonymous: Mon. 7:30, Business Center
- All Addictions Anonymous: Wed. 7:30
- Alcoholics Anonymous: Sat. 6:00
- Alanon: Tues 7:00pm @ CLC Grand Harbour
Help Me Grand Manan! 