A couple months ago I mentioned taking a Reiki class. In that class I was taught the five Reiki principles. Today I’d like to begin exploring these principles. We’ll start with the first principle.
Just for today I will not anger.
All of the principles begin with “Just for today.” This is such a powerful way to begin a life principle, because it forces you to concentrate on the now. Just now, just today; I don’t have to think about or worry about anything beyond, anything in the future. To me, it just seems easier to focus on today. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but I know that if I focus on it, just for today, I can follow this principle. I like to think that I can do just about anything for a single day.
I will not anger. Anger isn’t something that we expect. It usually jumps on us when we least expect it. There are often signs it may be coming, but when it comes it’s like a large jungle cat pouncing on us full of ferocity, gnarling teeth, and tremendous roars. Coincidentally I look just like this when I get angry.
I once heard a phrase that has stuck with me. “Anger should arrive slowly and depart quickly.” Now that’s not to say that anger should slowly build, but rather it should be slow to even start building. Then when it does arrive, it should depart quickly. Anger doesn’t serve any purpose; it’s an emotion that gets the best of us, and we can easily lose control to it. Thus it must be quick to depart, or we lose control.
Anger may appear to come from many things, but no matter what we believe the source to be, it actually comes from within. Nobody can make us angry. We come up with the anger on our own, through disagreement or imbalance between our thoughts and feelings and those of someone else. We mustn’t blame others for our anger. I alone must control my anger; I alone must control my thoughts and feelings. It’s like any other emotion really, they all come from within. We decide how we feel. There may be external stimuli, but it’s our internals that process these and act upon them.
So, just for today I will not anger. It’s only one day and I can do anything for a day. Then tomorrow, I’ll do it again, just for a day.
What about you, can you do it, just for today? How do you rid yourself of anger once it’s grasped you in it’s evil clutches?
Photo by Tambako the Jaguar
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
True: anger may appear to come from many things, but it comes from within. Or more exactly, from our automatic thinking patterns. Which we can learn to recognize, address and modify in time. This is what I like about being human: superior brain power.
Ideas With A Kick´s last blog ..The ultimate tool for managing your emotions
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Eric Watermolen
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February 10th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Eduard, The brain is a wonderful thing. That’s a good point about automatic thinking patterns. It takes a conscious effort to change those patterns, but we can do it with our superior brain power.
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Hi Eric – I love the idea of “just for today.” I had dinner with a friend last night, and we were talking about anger. And speculating that if we could ask ourselves what was the opposite of it, just for today, we might more easily move out of anger and into calmness. So your post couldn’t have come at a better time. Thanks!
Patty @ Why Not Start Now?´s last blog ..What the Super Bowl Taught Me About Life
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Eric Watermolen
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February 12th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Patty, Funny how the timing works like that. All our thoughts intertwine in the great oneness.
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I love this, Eric! I have printed it and will be giving it to my daughters to read and reflect on. Thanks!
Krissa´s last blog ..Halfass floundering in the snow
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Eric Watermolen
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February 18th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Very cool Krissa. When I took the Reiki class, we went over all five principles and spent quite a bit of time on each, discussing them and determining what they meant to us. I’ll be posting discussion on the remaining four in the near future, probably spread in amongst other posts. PS. I read your snow floundering adventure, it sounded like some excitement. That’s a dreadful sinking feeling when you get stuck in a ditch.
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