Are You Angry?

‎"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger." ~ Buddha

When we allow our thoughts to dwell in anger, discontent, or injustice we are causing our own suffering. Anger, as all emotions, is a natural response to some situations. Feel the emotion, and then let it flow and let it go. We all did this when we were very young.  We would get upset, cry, scream, jump up and down, and then a few minutes later we would be onto something else, without dwelling on the past emotion.  Of course, as adults we can channel the anger in situational appropriate ways, but if you are alone, let it out in any way that you feel.  Then let it go. 
 When people stay with the emotion by repetitively rehashing the situation in their minds, suffering occurs. Anger itself is the demon that wields the punishment! Oh, that we could instantly feel the burning nature of anger like the burn of a hot coal, we would all avoid touching it again. There are many ways to extinguish the fire of this demon- the one that works best for me is taking a few slow deep breaths. This is instantly calming and allows your attention to move away from the angry thoughts. The fire of anger feeds on attention, don't feed it and it won't be able to burn you.
Many Blessings-
Laura Barrette Shannon