Anger, The Secondary Emotion

"Resentment is like taking poison

and waiting for the other person to die."

Malachy McCourt

With an open heart, we are vulnerable to the insensitivity's of others.  When we are filled with compassion, we can counter balance negative emotions thrown our way.  If we do not practise kind heartedness, perceived hurtful statements will begin to carve a  deep line of resentment in our emotional field.

Our first emotional response to an ill spoken word is quickly followed by a secondary emotion, anger.  As anger gathers, it begins to fester, and to pull us off center.  If we dwell upon what we perceived as judgment, our attitude will become worse than the original offender.  We will be harming ourselves while the speaker has long forgotten the incident.

To any offensive comment, the perfect mindset is: They must be having a terrible day!  We understand the attitude is not about us, but a reflection of them.  Instead of taking it personally, we can respond thoughtfully to them with "Are you having a bad day?"  Then watch the persona of the speaker shift.