I use the word chose deliberately because that’s what happened.
I saw a headline that sent me down a rabbit hole. Clickbait works. As I kept on reading I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier. Before long at all I had started writing a post fueled completely by that anger and my sense of moral outrage.
Then I caught myself. The anger was showing up in every sentence. If I finished writing and hit “Post,” all I would have done was add one more angry voice to a world that already has more than enough of them.
Whether it’s the news, social media, or just the constant, unrelenting stream of things competing for our attention, it’s too easy to let someone else dictate our emotional state. Today I almost let that happen.
But my peace is way more important to me and to my family than any headline. An angry heart tends to spread anger. A peaceful heart has a lot better chance of spreading peace.
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1
“Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is an eternal law.” – The Buddha
I don’t write this as a “look at me” post and I certainly don’t write it to preach. Like most of what I write, I’m just documenting my own journey. Some days I do better than others.
If you’re anything like me and you catch yourself upset by a headline or caught in an endless cycle of outrage, maybe it’s worth pausing for a second. Ask yourself whether holding on to that anger will actually change anything… or whether protecting your own peace might be the better choice.
Today, at least, I chose peace.
Amituofo
~Buck
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