More thinkin’ about forgiveness (and rage)

by Karin on September 9, 2010 · 0 comments

in Anger, Forgiveness, Just thinking, Quotations, Spirituality and God

Norris Burkes is a columnist in our local paper who is syndicated, so perhaps you get him too. He writes about spiritual things and is currently a chaplain at a hospital, so often he writes about things that occur in the hospital with patients he is visiting.

He lays his faith on the line and doesn't mince words. While he speaks about spiritual things, he shoots from the hip, and sometimes people tell him (and he tells his readers that other readers have told him) that he isn't very godly. But his experiences are always human so they are helpful to me. I like that he makes Christianity practical and not just words that are pie in the sky.

In this article he vows that he is going to throw the contents of his cup at whatever car manages to just miss him on the cross walk...and it backfires.

I knew the rage I'd been holding inside ... was indicative of how many of us handle the things that bother us.

Instead of speaking up the first time something bothers us, we wait. We wait because we think waiting is a spiritual thing. We quote the sacred teachings about turning the other cheek.

When that doesn't work, we keep turning cheeks, all the while waiting and quietly raging until we're ready to give the object of our rage a view of our more southern cheeks -- or in my case the southern end of my drudge cup.

The problem with this kind of waiting is it gives people the full force of the feelings we've collected. The problem with trying to spill out all those old feelings is it never amounts to anything constructive or helpful. Norris Burkes

I kinda know what he is talking about, I do, I do. Another speaker I heard one time said that she realized when she exploded in anger so quickly (and for unrelated reasons) she realized she had this little river of kerosene of anger running through her, and it only took a spark to set her off. She would have to get rid of this trickle in order to be free of it.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-01-20 19:58:22.

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