How to let go of anger

I’ve been reading O Magazine’s “101 Best Pieces of Advice” and #65 is a mighty long quote, but makes great sense:

“Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath. Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body. Then look at, or think of, the person triggering this emotion: With mindfulness, you can see that she is unhappy, that she is suffering. You can see her wrong perceptions. You can see that she is not beautiful when she says things that are unkind. You can also see that you don’t want to be like her. You’ll feel motivated by a desire to say or do something nice—to help the other person suffer less. This means compassionate energy has been born in your heart. And when compassion appears, anger is deleted.” 

—Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and author of Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 7