Tis The Season

 

"Angry people are not always wise.” ~ Jane Austen

For the last 2 weeks, I’ve been running around getting many things done. It’s been hectic – the crowds are getting thicker, the jams longer, and the weather erratic. When those three converge in Nairobi, you’re bound to hear an angry word thrown about, a quarrel breaks out or even witness a fight. I read a fable this week that sought to explain why this is so, and I will share it as part of my musings today.

Once upon a time, there used to be a saint who went door to door in a certain village, begging for alms. One day, he reached the house of a rich man called Seth. Seth brought some grains and gave them to the saint as alms. Before the saint left, Seth asked him a question. “Maharaj, I wanted to ask you, why do people fight?”

The saint listened but remained silent for a while. Then, he replied in a loud voice, “I have come here to take alms, I have not come here to answer your silly questions.”

On hearing this, Seth got very angry and lost control of himself. He started shouting at the saint saying, “What is this behavior? I just gave you alms and you are answering me like this?”

Seth said many things to the saint in anger, but the saint just stood there watching him and listening in silence. He did not utter a word.

After some time, Seth calmed down and kept quiet. The saint then spoke and said, “Brother, as soon as I responded to you badly, you got angry. In your anger, you started shouting at me. Had I also got angry, there would have been a big fight between us. Anger is the cause of every quarrel and if we did not let our anger take control of us, there would be no fight.”

How many times have you been hooted at angrily while there was an obstacle in your path that the person behind you could not see? Accidents have happened when such a person has decided to act in their anger, swerved to overtake, only to collide head-on with oncoming traffic!

This festive season, you may encounter more than your fair share of angry people, offended people, stressed people. You don’t know their stories – but you know you. Choose peace. No amount of words can affect you unless you choose to allow them. That angry word, that blow may cost you more than you bargained for. Choose peace.

“When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.” ~ Mark Twain

“Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, “What else could this mean?”” ~ Shannon L Alder

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