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Have you ever been so angry that you lost all sense of rationale thinking? I know that I have. It hasn’t happened often, but I can admit that I have been so angry that all sorts of things have run through my mind. Thankfully, I have had enough self-control to make my way through the emotion to allow a cooler head to prevail.

First, there’s lots of craziness to the President and threats of harm on his life. I have also had conversations with several folks lately that were so angry at people and situations. These people were talking about retaliation that could have led to a harmful outcome for all parties involved.

What’s interesting about feelings of anger and frustration to the point of retaliation is the underlying emotions that drive the reaction to begin with.

In the case of the vicious threats and name calling around the President, the underlying emotion is one of fear, loss, defeat and helplessness. The same is the case with some of the people I had conversations with. As a matter of fact, the unspoken emotions are what are actually louder than the voice of anger. We are all human and we all at times experience emotions that frankly we just don’t know what to do with. And if we are not careful, succumbing to anger can be the easier out. The problem with that is, when the blow-up has ended, a lot of regrettable things could have been said or done. At that point, it’s too late.

Early on, some of the great teachers in my life would always encourage me to rely on the scriptures to grow and develop in the feelings and emotions of my life. Admittedly, at the time I didn’t put as much stock into the recommendation as my life has since taught me to rely on.

The truth of the matter is, life can be full of criticism, disappointment, unfairness, and mistreatment, lying, cheating and stealing. If we focus on those things, we can expect to experience emotions that may not be in our best interest. But if we purposely seek to discover and encourage the best in people and situations, our lives can be filled with more joy and positive expectation.

Keeping our mind set on things that are good while expecting positive outcomes is helpful in living a balanced life. Staying present in our own lives, recognizing stress, responding rather than reacting, stopping to think and pray through situations, as well as, engaging in conversation rather than arguing can lead to clearer understanding paving the way toward forgiveness even if we cannot forget.

I have dug my heels in at times and spouted off, “it will be a cold day in ………,” and then I have to stop and think, how many times have I had to go before the Lord asking for forgiveness and what a heck of mess I would be in, if He responded, “it will be a cold day in……..!” Psalm 37:8 (NIV), sums it all up, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

There is so much going on in our midst, it is possible that we feel tense in our neighborhoods, in our homes and schools and on our jobs. If we all slow down and stop and think, while praying for our families, our jobs, our friends and our country, together we can change the atmosphere.

Sounds like a plan to me, what about you?

Tanya is an inspirational speaker and writer living in Charlotte. You can friend her on Facebook or email her at tw360you@aol.com. Read more columns by Tanya Wilson.

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Tanya Wilson is an inspirational speaker and writer living in Charlotte. To learn more about her visit http://www.360you.net.