About Anger

This morning at work one of my coworkers was thinking about our friend Sue. She came over to where I was working and very heartfeltly said to me, "I don't ever want to get angry or mad at anyone ever again." It was the tone of her voice that resonated in me and I thought about what she said all day. People always say that you shouldn't let the sun go down on your anger, and we say it so much that we probably don't even think twice about even doing it. But maybe we need to take a second look at that phrase. Maybe we should think about how we are so quick to anger and find fault with other people. We just get mad, utter a few unkind words under our breath and wish them all sorts of ill will....and all because we are angry. Anger should certainly be a 'four-letter-word' because it sure isn't a good word. We don't like it when we feel that someone is treating us in an angry or rude manner. So why is it that we are so quick to do it to someone else? Are we any better than the person we are treating so badly? NO! I must admit that I am guilty of being angry. I've been angry alot and uttered unkind words under my breath and wished people all sorts of ill will ('specially if I encounter a bad driver on the road!)....but when my coworker said today, with such a sweet, humble humility about herself, that she 'never wanted to be angry' with anyone again, it really made me examine my own heart alittle more closely...and I'm not so happy with what I see there. Sue left this earth so quickly that none of us had the chance to even say good-bye. In a moment, in an instant she was gone, and she is not able to come back to us. It pains me so deeply that I can't work with her anymore or sing our crazy songs, or watch each other grow older together, and I am so angry that I could drive to the highest mountain, just to scream my lungs off an anything that moved up there. But I can't do that. I think that my coworker came to the realization this morning at how precious and dear all life is, whether we agree with someone or not. She never wanted an unkind word to fall from her mouth toward anyone....because you just never know when that person will be taken away and you won't have a chance to take back what you said. My coworker doesn't know how close she almost brought me to tears this morning. I wanted to lash out at my own feelings of anger and tell them to be gone and to never come back. I don't ever want to be unkind to anyone ever again or say cruel words under my breath or get mad. But the truth is, I probably will, just as my coworker will too. It's human nature......but maybe, just maybe, before we think, say or do something unkind we will stop for a moment and remember Sue....and remember that she was a friend to all, not just some, but to all. She wouldn't want the things that we said or thought about someone to be in anger.....because just as she was taken so quickly, so could they. Life is so precious and sweet.....and it is meant to be lived in peace and harmony. When we express anger in any form we are not living to our best potential and we should stop and think about it for a moment.....because one never knows when that will be our last thought on this earth.