MSI Press Blog

  excerpt from  Anger Anonymous  -  CHAPTER ONE ANGER STYLES: TENDING THE FIRE “Anger’s my meat. I sup upon myself and so shall starve with feeding.” —William Shakespeare   Everybody gets angry. “But not me,” I told myself.  In my father’s drunken rages, I witnessed the devastating effects of uncontrolled anger. I saw dealing with anger as playing with fire. I could easily get burned. I decided at a young age, without really mak bing a conscious choice, to smother any smoking tinders of irritation I felt. In remaining calm and controlled, I found safety and, I believed, acceptance and admiration from others. It was only many years later that I began to recognize the awful price I paid for my pseudo-tranquility. ANGER, A POWERFUL ENERGY Anger is a natural energy, like fire. Our earliest ancestors witnessed the power of fire in lightning storms and raging forest fires. They also enjoyed the light and warmth it provided in their cold, dark world. It was like a god to them. They feared and

  BOREDOM “Behold, I am making all things new.” --Revelations 21: 5   We often use slogans to guide us through life’s complexity. I recently learned two slogans popular among young people today. YOLO: “You only live once.” It proclaims that we have only this one precious and wild life. So, we must make the most of it. This maxim reiterates the ancient wisdom, “Life is short.” Take advantage of our allotted time. A second piece of complimentary guidance is FOMO: “Fear of missing out.” There is a sense of urgency to fill our brief time here with stimulating activities. We want to cram as many experiences as possible in our available time. Only then can we feel satisfied and happy. We Americans assume that a fast-moving, active life is a fulfilled life. “An idle mind is the workshop of the devil,” a time-honored epithet reminds us. A boring life is a useless one. We want to do as much as we can as quickly as we can. Our goal is to be productive and efficient. We confess laziness